Infinite Gravity
by Achiasa
Summary: A mystery hacker is targeting top-secret data, and Rockman is right in the firing line. He and Netto must join up with Enzan and Blues to track down the cyber-crook - but is friendship and rivalry turning into something more? Blues/Rockman, Netto/Enzan
1. Chapter 1

Title: Infinite Gravity  
Part: 1/18  
Rating: T  
Characters/Pairings: Rockman & Blues, Netto & Enzan  
Notes: Set a good five years after canon. This is slightly AU in that I've played fast and loose with canon versions and background details - it's mostly based on the anime timeline, but there are some game and manga details in here too. Please be warned that this fic contains shameless fanon cliches, because they are relevant to the plot.

**Infinite Gravity**

**1.**

"Upgrades, upgrades!" Netto cheered, punching the air as he skidded to a stop in front of the Sci-Labs building. A laugh floated up from the PET at his hip as he waved his pass-key over the scanner and the doors hissed open for him.

"Netto-kun, you're too excited about this. It's only security updates for the PET."

"Papa didn't say that's _all_ it is," Netto argued, unclipping his skates as he entered the building. "Last time you said 'just security updates' and we ended up with extra chip slots and a whole new buster subroutine. Hi, Umino-san," he added, waving to the young woman at the reception desk as he passed, as usual completely oblivious to her blush. Rockman rolled his eyes, shaking his head tolerantly. It had been like that all through their internship here last summer, and Netto hadn't noticed at all.

"Netto-kun, you know Papa's been busy working on the DA project recently," Rockman admonished fondly. "He can't have had time to design any serious upgrades – you shouldn't get your hopes up."

"Well, upgrades are always cool anyway." Netto linked his hands behind his head, waiting impatiently for the elevator. "Anything that's good for you is cool, right?" None of the passers-by gave him a second glance; this was Sci-Labs, after all, where it was considered entirely usual to hold conversations with one's Navi in public. There was no need to use their link to speak, although Rockman could still 'feel' Netto's presence like a warm shadow at the back of his mind.

"Yeah." Rockman tapped into the local network briefly, examining the daily bulletins."Netto-kun, they're doing preliminary tests on the new model Dimension Area generators today; you could take a look while you're waiting."

"Really?" The elevator doors hissed open, and Netto wandered inside, waving his pass-card at the sensor again and pushing the button for their father's floor. "Maybe."

Rockman sighed; this was an old argument. "You really don't need to stay with me while I'm offline. Papa will take good care of me."

"I know that," Netto protested, pulling the PET out of its holster to speak to him directly; Rockman blinked in surprise as the viewing window opened abruptly. "I just don't like leaving you alone like that – it's weird when you're offline, I can't feel you at all."

"You can't?" Rockman thought back to the last time Netto had been knocked unconscious – they had been fighting a particularly nasty virus in a Dimensional Area, and it had been pure bad luck that it had caught them wrong-footed, and pure good luck that Blues and Enzan had been there too. At the time, Rockman had put his disorientation down to being thrown out of Cross Fusion so violently, but it was true that he'd barely been able to feel Netto's presence in the link at all. It must be that much worse for Netto, with him completely offline.

"Okay, maybe we can go check out the experiment afterwards," Rockman conceded, smiling reassuringly as Netto exited the lift. "Promise me you won't get in Papa and the technicians' way, though, Netto-kun."

"Hey!" Netto objected to that, glaring indignantly down at the PET screen. "I wouldn't do that, Rockman."

"Sorry, sorry." Rockman waved a hand with a conciliatory smile. They were approaching the door to Dr Hikari's section of the labs, so he beamed their security ID directly to the sensor as a gesture of apology; Netto blinked as the double doors whooshed open in front of him.

Strangely enough, the Net Development labs were almost empty when they entered, only a single Navi looking up from her holo-display as they passed and pinging a polite greeting to Rockman.

"Man, it's like the dead in here," Netto complained, peering into empty labs and offices as they passed, the usual hum of conversation and machinery almost entirely absent. "Where'd everyone go?"

"They're all downstairs setting up the DA experiment." Dr Hikari stepped out of his office at the sound of Netto's voice, smiling as he typed something into the holo-screen of his own PET. "That's why I picked today to do these upgrades. Good morning Netto-kun, Rock-kun."

"Good morning, Papa." Rockman beamed, waving hello.

"Morning, Papa," Netto contributed, pushing the projector button on the side of the PET so that Rockman's 3D hologram appeared above it, where he could more easily interact with them both. "What upgrades are we getting? Rockman says it's just security."

"Wait and see." Dr Hikari led the way into his lab, flipping the main terminal out of standby mode. "Rockman, you know the procedure, right? Plug in and power down, please."

"Yes, Papa." Rockman turned off the projector as Netto set the PET down on the charge pad, connecting the device into the mainframe and beginning shutdown procedures. He had time for one last smile at his nervous-looking Operator before everything went dark.

* * *

Netto watched Rockman dissolve into pixels, wincing despite himself as the link went dead and empty. Dr Hikari patted his shoulder sympathetically, moving him gently aside to tap a command into the terminal. Netto recognised the program that flashed up on the screen as some kind of diagnostic before his father turned back to him.

"We'll let that run for a while. It's time for your contribution, Netto."

"Huh?" Netto blinked at him, startled out of his nerves. "My what?"

Dr Hikari smiled wryly. "You probably noticed, Netto-kun, but you've grown a bit since I first designed Rockman." He held out a hand, measuring Netto's height with an amused shake of his head before beckoning him to follow, leading the way to another section of the lab where some tall equipment, including what looked like one of the holotubes from the original Cross Fusion experiments, was set up.

Netto trailed in his wake, thoroughly puzzled and not really liking the feeling. "I know _that,_" he protested, because surely it was kind of obvious that he wasn't a little kid any more, even if he wasn't yet – quite – as tall as his father. "What's it got to do with Rockman's upgrades?"

"Because Rockman hasn't grown, at least not in the same way, it's been putting some extra strain on your systems in Cross Fusion – that is, your organic and Rockman's digital systems. So," Dr Hikari gestured at the holotube, "We're going to fix that."

"We are?" Netto scratched his head, possibilities whirling in his mind. "How?"

"Jump in there," Dr Hikari indicated the tube, "and you'll see."

"You always have to be so mysterious, Papa," Netto grumbled, but he shrugged off his backpack and climbed into the tube anyway, glancing around at the arrays of equipment warily. His first thought had been that their father wanted to tweak their Cross Fusion, but he was pretty sure Rockman would have to be awake for that. "What now?"

"Now, you stand still and let me take these readings," his father instructed, typing some commands into his PET and connecting it to the machine's console. Almost immediately, a light flickered on inside the tube, making Netto jump, and a humming noise emanated from the floor beneath him.

"Stand _still_, Netto," Dr Hikari admonished without looking up from the screen, then, as Netto opened his mouth to apologise, "That means no talking, too."

It seemed to take forever, with the light flickering and the humming setting his teeth on edge, and his Papa bent over the console, typing frantically. By the time Dr Hikari sighed and straightened, the light flicking off, Netto had worked out that he was being scanned; he just wasn't quite sure of why.

"Okay, done." His father smiled as Netto sighed in relief, hastily jumping out of the cramped tube and stretching out his arms. "Netto-kun, could you monitor Rockman's AI and personality functions for me while I install the upgrades? The PET should be done defragmenting and compiling the new security functions by now."

"Sure!" Netto puffed up a bit, wheeling a chair over to the secondary terminal and bringing Rockman's personality base and AI source files up onto the screen. These were the programs that in a standard Navi would have been so much less complex – essentially, the algorithmic data that made Rockman who he was. Netto could see a few tiny changes as his father worked to update the source code, some values changing by a few fractional percentage points as interconnected systems were modified, but nothing strayed outside of its normal working parameters.

"How does it look?" Dr Hikari asked at length, pausing to look over at Netto's screen.

"All green from here," Netto reported cheerfully – it really did make Rockman's absence easier to bear if he had an active role in the proceedings.

"Good – we just need to let this compile, then." Dr Hikari unplugged his yellow PET from the terminal leaning back in his chair and smiling at Netto. "So, Netto-kun, have you thought about what you'd like for your birthday?"

"Huh?" Netto blinked, thrown by the non-sequitur. "Not really – that's ages away, Papa."

"Ah, maybe so." Dr Hikari shook his head, starting a little as his PET beeped a message tone. "Excuse me a moment – Yes, what is it?"

"Professor, the preliminary infrastructure testing is complete. Results are positive, with only minor initial power fluctuations that settled out over time." It was Ueda-san, Netto realised, one of the technicians in his father's section. His own summer job here had been with the programming team, so he hadn't seen much of the Net Development team, except when they wanted him and Rockman to test things out for them, but Ueda-san always seemed to be glaring down his nose at them.

"Excellent; please send the results up and begin Phase Two. I'll prepare Phase Three." His father signed off and returned to the terminal just as a chime signalled the end of the compilation process. Netto bounced upright in his chair, eager to see Rockman awake again. His father laughed, putting a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"Patience, Netto-kun. The PET needs to restart, and then he'll boot up on his own..."

* * *

Awareness returned before sensation or solid form. Automatically, Rockman ran a check on his source files before allowing start-up to proceed further; while he found no errors, he was aware that changes had been made, although just _what_ was still fuzzy. Curious now, Rockman brought first audio and then visual online, not at all surprised to find Netto peering over the terminal worriedly. Everything seemed to be as it should be – the link snapping back into place between them as if it had never left – so Rockman allowed himself to pixelate into solid form.

Almost immediately, he realised what had changed. "I'm bigger?" Perplexed, Rockman stared down at himself – he was definitely taller than he had been, and a little broader through the shoulders. In fact, he realised as he looked up at his Operator's startled face, he would probably be of a size with Netto now, if he projected at human size.

"Hi, Netto-kun." His voice was a little deeper too, he realised with surprise – just enough that no one could mistake him for a 'child' model Navi.

"Whoa." Netto was staring at him like he couldn't quite believe it. "You really did grow, Nii-san."

"Ah..." Rockman rubbed the back of his helmet, a little embarrassed. "Is it bad?"

"No!" Netto protested, plugging the PET out of the console. "It's just new, you know? It'll take me a while to get used to."

"Okay." Rockman ran a quick system check on the PET, pleased with the speed of its response. "Thank you, Papa."

"Yeah, thanks," Netto echoed, and for an instant Rockman felt them falling further into sync, matching smiles crinkling their eyes. Then the moment was gone as Dr Hikari laughed and ruffled Netto's carefully disordered hair.

"You're welcome. Now come on, let's go and check on the DA experiment. If you're lucky, you might even get to try the new generator out..."

"Really? Awesome!" Netto bounded out of the door, suddenly re-energised; Rockman grinned to himself. Netto-kun would always be Netto-kun, no matter what happened.

_It's weird, you know?_ Netto 'said' silently as they rode the elevator down to the basement testing labs. _Seeing you – do you think growing up will mean we have to lose all the fun stuff?_

_Netto-kun?_ Rockman craned his neck to try and see his Operator's face, but the PET screen was at the wrong angle. _What's this about? It's not like you._

_We really have grown a lot, haven't we?_ There was something almost wistful in Netto's tone. Not for the first time, Rockman wished he could just _hug_ him or something.

_Don't you think it's a good thing?_ He asked instead. _Besides, I know you, Netto-kun. Net-Battling's the only thing you call fun anyway._

_Yeah. _Netto laughed silently in his head. _Like anyone could stop us!_

_Heh_. Good, that had cheered him up. There was something just _wrong_ about a melancholy Netto, like snow in summer. _I don't know, Gutsman's getting pretty good these days..._

Netto's outraged, indignant response to that didn't even need words. Rockman laughed out loud as they stepped out of the elevator into the observation room, waving a placatory hand at Netto. It went without saying that they both knew who their true rivals were, after all.

Dr Hikari crossed immediately to the main computer bank, speaking in a low tone to Ueda-san, who looked suspiciously over at Netto through his thick glasses. Ignoring him for the moment, Netto wandered over to the viewing window, lifting the PET to give Rockman a better view. Instead of the usual array of cylindrical generators, the object of scrutiny today appeared to be a simple blue hemisphere, about the size of a laptop and mounted into a metal cabinet. A convoluted nest of wiring trailed across the floor; Rockman could see why the technicians were working from the viewing gallery.

"Wow – that looks way too small to generate a Dimensional Area," Netto opined doubtfully. "Maybe a really small one..."

"It's only a prototype, remember," Rockman pointed out. "It makes sense to test it on a smaller scale."

"I guess." Netto peered down with curiosity in his eyes as lights flashed on the cabinet. An automated voice came over the loudspeaker, accompanied by a warning beep.

"Commencing Phase Two of live testing. Please secure all non-essential systems."

"Disconnecting from local area networks," Rockman reported before Netto could speak up to remind him, closing down his connections with a thought. It was such second nature that he caught himself trying to close off their link.

_Hey!_ Netto protested, giving him an indignant mental poke.

_Sorry, sorry,_ Rockman apologised, a little embarrassed. _Force of habit. This looks like it could be interesting, huh?_

"Yeah," Netto answered aloud, pressing one hand against the viewing window as if he were still the little kid he'd been talking about leaving behind. "It's got to at least work, if they're at Phase Two – I wonder what'll happen?"

"Hopefully nothing untoward." Dr Hikari joined them at the window, his own PET in hand. "Well, let's see." He entered a command, and immediately lights began to flicker on the equipment in the test area. The blue sphere began to glow, brighter and brighter until it was incandescent, almost painful to look at until Rockman applied a filter to his visual feed. Then, with a soundless explosion, everything went white.

"Whoa!" Netto exclaimed; it took Rockman a moment to replay events in slow motion and realise that what had seemed like a wave of light had actually been the Dimensional Area expanding outwards from the sphere even as it formed. This conclusion was backed up by the fact that they undeniably inside the Dimensional Area right now, and the scientists were in uproar.

"Papa?" Rockman asked tentatively; Dr Hikari looked astonished, which probably wasn't a good sign. "Was that supposed to happen?"

"Ah, not in so many words." Their father visibly collected himself, turning to shout at the technicians. "Calm down! Yanagi, broadcast an explanation to the rest of the building. Mizuno, check the firewalls! Ueda, make sure you're recording every bit of data! We need to look at ways of reducing the power output..."

Netto left them to it, wandering out of the way and bringing the PET up to easy conversational level. "There's no enemy activity, right, Rockman?"

"The firewalls are holding." Rockman reconnected to the Sci-Labs network, looking around curiously. The program that must be powering the DA generator was a whirl of colour in the cyber-sky, like a prismed image of its material form. Several Navis he recognised as part of the science team seemed to be working on it. "It's all quiet on this side."

"Huh." Strangely, Netto sounded almost disappointed. He was quiet for a moment, frowning as if in thought. "You know, Papa said your upgrades would make Cross Fusion easier..."

"Really?" Rockman asked, intrigued, but he could see that gleam in Netto's eye. "That's not an excuse to test it, Netto-kun."

"It's not an _excuse_," Netto protested. "It's practically our duty – I don't know how big this DA is, but it's bound to attract bad stuff. We totally have to be ready!"

Rockman had opened his mouth, about to argue this, when there was a sharp cracking sound, like splintering glass, and the Dimensional Area vanished as if it had never been, the blue sphere going blank and dull.

"Aw man, too late," Netto sighed, drooping despondently. Rockman wasn't really listening, however, because above the startled cries of the scientists he could hear the pained shrieks of wounded and terrified Navis.

"Netto-kun!" He formed his buster, charging it as he sprinted toward the generator program and the large creature that had materialised seemingly out of nowhere to attack it. "Virus attack!"

"What?!" Dr Hikari exclaimed, rushing to look into the main monitor. "Netto! Rockman! Stop that thing before it destroys the generator!"

"Leave it to us!" Netto's confidence was infective as always. Rockman raised his buster, firing off a few shots at the virus – it was a huge and spindly thing, long mismatched limbs in varying shades of brownish-green that looked as if they'd been cobbled together from junk data. Even as Rockman watched, one of his shots tore right through an elbow – or was it a knee? - with a fizzle of staticky data that just reformed itself, the limb twisting and flexing as it resettled.

"Netto! That's a revenant!" Formed from an accidental mixing of not-quite-dead scrap data, it was unlikely to have much controlling intelligence beyond the instinctive level. Which would make it easier to out-think, but much harder to kill, if it could just reform itself into a new configuration every time it was damaged.

"Got it. Battle chip, Wide Sword, Hi-Cannon, slot in! Go for the body, Rock!"

Seeing exactly what Netto was thinking, Rockman kicked off the ground, slicing his way past the spidery thing's multiple arms as they struck at him. The fraction of time it took for them to rejoin themselves was enough for him to get a clear shot at its spindly body. "Hi-Cannon!"

The blast, as Rockman knew well, was powerful enough to at least stagger even the most well-defended Navi. So how the virus managed to avoid – no, to _absorb_ it, was a question that was going to be plaguing him for a while.

"No way!"

"No good!" Rockman somersaulted desperately out of the way of a spiky, clawed limb that came at him, retreating to a safe distance. "Energy weapons won't work on the core!"

"Son of a – fine, try this!" Netto yelled. "Program Advance – Elemental Sword!"

Balancing himself carefully to accept the extra energy, Rockman swung in a wide arc, slashing through multiple flailing and jagged-edged limbs. It seemed to take the thing a little longer to rejoin itself this time, but eventually there was the virus again, hissing and chittering as it moved in to attack.

"Ack!" Rockman just barely dodged a knifelike slice, tumbling clumsily to one side and finding the virus hot on his heels as soon as he managed to get them under him. "Netto-kun, it's too fast! Full Synchro!"

_You got it, Nii-san._ A moment of concentration, and the link opened wide, Netto's added strength flooding into him. _Let's power up and take this bastard out!_

"Wide Sword, Fumikomizan, double slot-in!" If they could cut too fast for it to regenerate, maybe...

_Go!_ They burst forward, using the speed advantage to carry their blades through swift, vicious arcs, crashing past the outer limbs to shred the body – which reformed itself before their eyes, data plaiting and weaving itself back into shape even as the virus shrieked.

"Damn!" Netto swore; Rockman had to stop his own mouth echoing it. "It just won't quit! Where's Enzan when you need him, anyway?"

"You called?" The familiar voice echoed around the cyberscape, and Rockman felt his and Netto's eyes go wide as a reddish form streaked past him and attacked the virus full-force, twin swords moving lightning-fast.

"Blues!" Rockman exclaimed in astonishment, echoing Netto's cry of "Enzan!"

"What are you standing around for, Hikari?" Enzan demanded, making Netto jump. "Hit it from the back before it can reform enough to absorb it!"

"Yes sir," Netto grumbled, but he was already feeding chips into the PET. "Rockman, give it everything you've got!"

"Yes!" Rockman watched as Blues moved in, slicing frantically at the torso even as the arms reformed, one of them slicing him across the shoulder. Under the repeated attacks, the virus data began to pixelate out as it tried desperately to reconfigure itself.

"_Now!_" Four voices in unison, then two: "Program Advance! Zeta Cannon!"

The force of the blast threw him backwards, and Rockman plainly head the virus' last bubbling scream as it finally disintegrated under the onslaught. All he saw, though, was white – and, when his vision cleared, the blurry, shadowed, unmistakeable form of Blues walking toward him out of the fading light.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Infinite Gravity  
Part: 2/18  
Rating: T  
Characters/Pairings: Rockman & Blues, Netto & Enzan  
Notes: Set a good five years after canon. This is slightly AU in that I've played fast and loose with canon versions and background details - it's mostly based on the anime timeline, but there are some significant game and manga details in here too. Please be warned that this fic contains shameless fanon cliches, because they are relevant to the plot.

**Infinite Gravity**

**2.**

"What the hell was that about, showing up at the last minute just so you can gloat that you saved us?!"

"Considering what might have happened otherwise, be grateful. You're slipping, Netto."

"We could totally have taken it!"

Blues and Rockman exchanged glances and by silent mutual agreement left their squabbling Operators to it. Blues had concluded some time ago that despite appearances, Hikari Netto's effect on Enzan-sama was most likely healthy.

"Ah, not that I'm not glad to see you, but why are you here?" Rockman asked quietly, tilting his head in a way that made it somehow very obvious that he'd gained a significant fraction of height. Where before he'd stood barely past Blues' shoulder, they were now almost on a level.

"Enzan-sama was heading to HQ when the Dimensional Area went up. We came to investigate," Blues explained in a low voice, glancing out of the viewing window at the argument still in progress – indignant ranting versus cool hauteur. "Upgrades?" He looked Rockman up and down thoughtfully – there was something about an adult-sized Rockman that seemed not quite right, though he couldn't immediately identify the source of the feeling.

"Yeah." Rockman positively beamed, and abruptly he was the same enthusiastic, naïve, _determined_ Navi he had always been. "Papa installed it today – apparently it'll ease the pressure of Cross Fusion, though we didn't get to try it. What do you think?"

Blues was saved from this potential minefield by Netto's voice snapping, "Rockman, plug out! We're going home."

"Ah, there he goes." Rockman laughed, shaking his head. "Thanks – for helping out, I mean."

"It was no problem." Blues identified that Rockman's voice had dropped a few cycles to match his appearance, though he still sounded entirely like himself.

"Still, you saved us again." Rockman stepped away, lifting a hand in farewell even as his Operator called for him again.

"Rockman! Come on!"

"All right, Netto-kun, I'm coming!" Rockman waved appeasingly at the viewing window, turning back to Blues. "I guess I'll see you later, maybe..."

"Most likely," Blues allowed, nodding in farewell as Rockman logged out. Enzan-sama had a meeting with his father scheduled for the afternoon, which would leave Blues solo; he had planned to stop by Net City to check out virus activity reports.

"Blues." Now that Hikari Netto had left – and Blues couldn't help noticing that Dr Hikari was shaking his head in amused exasperation – Enzan sounded as smooth and unruffled as ever.

"Yes, Enzan-sama." Blues logged out of the Sci-Labs network, returning to his PET and automatically bringing up his log of the battle. Examining it, he highlighted a few areas – those where his performance could have been fractionally improved, whether in speed or strength or angle of attack, but also the viral data captures that his systems had made when his attacks connected. Zooming in on the relevant sections, Blues examined the code thoroughly, drawing the most obvious conclusion.

"Enzan-sama, I don't believe that was a random attack."

"What?" Enzan broke off his conversation with the Professor, lifting the PET to focus all his attention on Blues.

"These code sections from the viral data," Blues displayed the information as Dr Hikari came to look over Enzan's shoulder, "are fully internally consistent, despite its appearance as a revenant."

"Oh, hell." Dr Hhikari's eyes widened and he pulled out his own PET. "Blues, could you send me the data?"

Blues glanced at Enzan, waiting for the tiny nod of permission before forwarding the relevant sections of code.

"If it was only designed to look like a virus attack, then what was it trying to distract our attention from?" As usual, Enzan cut straight to the heart of the issue. Blues nodded soberly, already initiating an automatic system check and log review. Better to be safe than sorry, although if the intention had been to steal Net Saviours' data then Rockman was by far the most likely candidate.

"The Sci-Labs system logs of the incident would be the best place to start checking, Enzan-sama," he suggested quietly.

"Yes." Leaving Dr Hikari to his examination of the virus code, Enzan unobtrusively commandeered a free terminal, connecting the PET and entering their Net Saviours override code to gain full access. "I'll take the DA project logs, Blues; you check the rest of the network."

"Yes, Enzan-sama." Blues logged back into the network, opening the system logs in several windows at once and beginning to scan through the data, highlighting anomalies.

"Found it," Enzan declared after a few minutes of searching, raising his voice to call for the Professor even as he tagged the data for Blues' attention. "Dr Hikari! There's been an unauthorised access!" Unfortunately, this information naturally caught the attention of most of the scientists in the room, and there was something of a collective rush to Enzan's terminal. Enzan held up a hand for silence, otherwise ignoring the sudden audience entirely. "Blues, please cross-reference the system access log with the network traffic log."

Blues did as instructed, pulling up two windows and scrolling through the data simultaneously. "An unidentified remote user accessed the system via a network backdoor bridge at 10:31:27 hours, approximately forty-five seconds after the virus was uploaded. The hosts are masked through a subsidiary Sci-Labs system, but both the virus and the intruder hash to the same path."

"As expected," Dr Hikari commented, looking up from his PET. "This code is very complex – there's no way this was anything other than a planned attack. The virus was even written on an AT-5 system, so there's no way it's traceable by PET ID."

"Planned for how long?" Enzan asked, but waved a dismissive hand when a technician with thick horn-rimmed glasses and a permanent, suspicious frown began to speak. "Blues?"

"Enzan-sama. The initial virus attack meant that the Dimensional Generator didn't shut down fully when the program was terminated. Its operating system was accessed at 10:31:29, and traffic logs subsequently record a 43.28 gigabyte download to a masked network location. Preliminary analysis of the records indicates that approximately seventy percent of the project logs were copied and downloaded."

An appalled silence followed, so prolonged that Blues glanced up from his screens, automatically checking on his Operator. While the scientists were rapidly becoming distraught, Enzan's eyes were narrowed in thought. Recognising the expression, Blues stilled, awaiting orders.

"Ah – only seventy percent?" Dr Hikari asked, the first to recover his wits. "Do you have the full file list?"

"The deletion of the virus forced the hacker to sever the connection, right Blues?" Enzan accepted the data list that Blues offered, displaying it on a separate monitor.

"Correct, Enzan-sama."

"Hacker?" one of the scientists who _wasn't_ scrambling to look over the data list asked. Enzan nodded shortly.

"Human, not Navi – it's a classic remote-access hack." He turned back to Blues, still wearing that intent and thoughtful expression. "Can you trace the retreat path?"

Irritated that he hadn't anticipated that, Blues nodded shortly, dismissing all but one of his data windows. "I'll attempt it. Please back me up, Enzan-sama."

"Of course." Enzan lifted the PET, examining the data that Blues had brought up. "The first step will be to find the system backdoor, then you should be able to isolate a data signature to follow." Blues felt him slot in a tracker chip. "Ready?"

"Yes." He took a fix on the approximate coordinates of the entry point and took off at flash-speed, jumping between the various Sci-Labs servers. When he touched down in the administrative system, the problem was obvious – a sparking gap had appeared in the firewall that separated the labs' power management system from the city's power grid. A few small viruses had already taken advantage of the breach and were chipping away at the network substructure. The Mettools and Spark Bees chittered in fright as Blues appeared in their midst, and he'd already sliced through half a dozen of them by the time Enzan had slotted in the Variable Sword chip.

"Sonic Boom!" The energy wave put paid to the rest of the small-fry viruses, and Blues straightened, tagging the firewall breach so that Sci-Labs' security Navis would pick it up. It was curious that they hadn't already, although as Blues examined the gap he realised that the initial entry had been made by re-routing the security sensors away from the targeted area, rather than simply by tearing a hole.

"Clever," Enzan-sama commented in a tone of voice that made it clear that this was not a compliment. "Let's go, Blues."

"Yes." Keeping his basic weapon equipped as a precaution, Blues ducked through the breach into the city network.

Almost before he could get his bearings, he was swarmed by more minor viruses, chittering angrily. Slicing efficiently through them, Blues spared a few moments to look around, realising that this was a comparatively neglected area of the network, its infrastructure outdated and seemingly abandoned.

"They must have been attracted by the energy signature," Enzan said, and indeed, once the defeated viruses' data was parsed out of the equation, Blues could detect the traces of another presence.

"There are remnants of a carrier signal," he reported, examining the data trail that led off into the recesses of the network. "The originating ID is masked, but the trail is clear." Mostly, he realised, thanks to the interrupted download, trace particles of data augmenting the signal. It must have taken some time to hack the firewall, hence why the signal was so strong here.

"Battle chip: Long Sword, slot in." Enzan's voice was beginning to take on some of the familiar intensity of a hunt, if not a battle. Acknowledging this, Blues allowed himself a hint of a smile as he checked his coordinates and heading. "Let's go."

"Yes, Enzan-sama." Blues took off at a moderate speed, wary both of potential threats and the need to conserve energy, although even at this pace few could have matched him. In this backwater of the 'Net, the few small-fry viruses that he passed weren't worth bothering with.

The trail led initially to a disused router in the city power regulation system, and Blues paused momentarily, examining the ID and originating host tags on the gateway logs before tracing the signal back further. When he reached the next intersection point, a minimally trafficked node in the internal control system of the power plant itself, something caught his attention.

"Enzan-sama, the ID and host tags recorded here are different from those previously used. The signal strength and encryption patterns are a match."

"He's trying to cover his tracks?" Enzan took a copy of the data for the investigation log. "He must know we're tracking him."

"Pursuit is a logical conclusion," Blues agreed.

"Keep going," Enzan ordered calmly. "What's the heading?"

Blues cross-checked the router reference with his database. "A gateway to the Local Government Intranet." He took off at a dash, following the faint – and now noticeably fading – data trail. "Enzan-sama, we should hurry. The signal is beginning to degrade."

"He's sticking to low-traffic areas so far," Enzan replied calmly. "That should help preserve his tracks."

"Yes." Blues flashed to a halt at the government gateway, represented by a portal into the intranet that was guarded by two uniformly armoured security Navis. They started at his abrupt entrance, raising their weapons; Blues dismissed his sword, raising his hand open-palmed to display the Net Saviours hologram.

"Sir!" The Navis straightened abruptly, saluting. "How can we help you?" the one on the left – they weren't differentiated at all – asked.

"Has there been any recent traffic this way?"

"Only authorised Navis, sir," the guard reported proudly. Blues shook his head impatiently, not particularly impressed.

"Viruses? Anything out of the ordinary?" He ran a quick scan on the area, hoping to pick up the exit point and heading.

"No virus activity recently," the security Navi reported. "There was a bit of flash discharge a while back, but it was most likely just an overload redistribution."

Or, Blues concluded rapidly, the sub-luminal passage effect of a non-materially-coded data wave, as the network subsystems briefly overloaded under the extra energy.

"Blues," Enzan prompted, voice tight; Blues acknowledged the guards with a nod, leaping off to continue following the trail. Even the brief conversation had wasted time; the signal was fading fast.

"I'm starting to dislike this guy already," Enzan said in a low voice so that only Blues would hear. "He's obviously both clever and talented, to be able to pull this off, and that's a bad combination. How do we combat a remote hack?"

"It's cowardly," Blues offered equally quietly, concentrating on the signal, although he had a sinking feeling that he knew where it was leading. "Enzan-sama," he drew to a halt at the next exchange point, fears confirmed. "This is a portal to Net City. The signal passed through here some fifteen minutes and nine seconds ago."

"...and the traffic is high enough that we have no chance of tracking it further," Enzan finished grimly as Blues stepped through the gateway into a well-travelled shopping district. Almost immediately, the faint remaining trace of the hack signal petered out, the data too disturbed by the sheer number of Navis logged into this system. "Hell," Enzan sighed, picking up the PET from the console. "Okay, Blues, log out and return. At least we have some signal data."

Blues nodded in silent confirmation, transferring back into the familiar environment of his PET with a thought as Dr Hikari heaved a sigh, running a hand through his hair.

"Well, it's better than nothing. Thank you, Enzan-kun, Blues – if I could have a copy of the data?"

"Of course," Enzan acknowledged; Blues sent the collated signal data, together with the relevant sections of his logs, to the Professor's Sci-Labs address, copying Net Saviours HQ – which meant Meijin – and the Commissioner into the transmission. "You're the experts, in this case," Enzan continued. "Please let us know the results of your analysis."

"Of course," Dr Hikari echoed. "We're going to have to completely rebuild our security system, too, and overhaul the DA project, now that they have the specs..."

"They?" Enzan asked; Blues diverted a fraction more of his attention from his so far unsuccessful attempts to analyse the hack signal, in order to listen.

"The hackers, whoever they are." Dr Hikari glanced at Enzan and shook his head. "No, Enzan-kun, I don't know who they are, but the statistical likelihood is that it's someone I know. That level of ability in old-school programming – it's very rare, these days."

Enzan narrowed his eyes, likely running down his own list of industry acquaintances for similarly talented people. Discreetly, Blues sounded a muted chime, bringing the day's schedule up onto the screen. Distracted, Enzan glanced down and nodded.

"I have to go. Please keep us informed of progress – with the DA project, as well as the case."

"Of course." Dr Hikari waved a hand in farewell, already turning back to his team.

"Blues," Enzan ordered as he left the building at a brisk pace, "send an email to Meijin and the Commissioner with my apologies for the delay."

"Yes, Enzan-sama. They are already aware of the incident," Blues added meticulously as he forwarded the message, adding an estimate of their arrival time. HQ was only minutes from Sci-Labs, which was why they had been able to respond to the incident at all.

"I don't doubt it," Enzan said shortly, heading out of the main doors with no acknowledgement of the receptionist's farewell. "Set up a meeting with Matoi-san from Software Security whenever we can fit it in this week – I want his opinion on this case."

As always, Blues did as directed, and by the time he was done with matching schedules and booking rooms, Enzan was holding the PET up to the HQ building's scanner, displaying their Net Saviours ID. The doors swung silently open for him, although there was no one to hear – the building, tacked onto the back of the police headquarters like an afterthought, overlooked an alleyway on one side and a car park on the other.

"Ah, Ijuin-kun." The Commissioner was crossing the lobby as Enzan entered, and stopped to wait for him. "Plenty of excitement this morning, hm?"

"Yes, sir." Enzan nodded politely, following the older man into the elevator. "Have you been able to analyse the data we gathered?"

"Only the virus so far – it's very sophisticated. I'm more concerned about the why right now," the Commissioner explained as they waited for the lift to reach the top floor.

"The Dimensional Area data is valuable," Enzan pointed out slowly.

"Well yes, that's a given, but what is it that they plan to do with it?" The Commissioner peered over at Enzan, glance flicking down to the PET screen for a moment. "I'm sure you recall the illegal activities of the Nebula group, who also had DA technology..."

Enzan ducked his head, jaw hardening at the pointed – and unnecessary – reminder. Blues looked away, the familiar twinge of illogical guilt attacking him.

"Whoever this hacker is," the Commissioner concluded as the elevator doors hissed open, "we can't afford to have this information used against us."

Meijin looked up from a console as they entered the control room. "Especially since we weren't expecting the new model to be as powerful or effective as it appears to be." His goggles gleamed as he nodded. "Good morning, Enzan-kun. I take it you witnessed the, ah, scale of this morning's experiment?"

"You might say that," Enzan replied wryly, pressing the connection button to allow Blues to transfer into the control-room computer. Taking his cue, Blues activated the holo-projector platform.

"It was the scale of the Dimensional Area – and its cancellation – that alerted us to the attack," he explained succinctly. "We were able to arrive in time to assist Rockman in deleting the virus."

"Ah. Well, the experiment was designed for a thirty percent output." Meijin paused, pushing his goggles up his nose. "We had anticipated a diameter of no more than twenty-five metres."

"Ah," Enzan echoed, looking suddenly intrigued. Blues, well aware that certain sections of IPC's research and development facilities were working on fine-tuning Dimensional Area effects, glanced back and forth between his Operator and the commanders. The DA that had been produced that morning had covered all of Sci-Labs and almost all of the surrounding industrial park. If that was thirty percent, then full output would likely cover most of the city centre.

"In any case." The Commissioner clapped his hands briskly, changing the topic. "My original intention in calling you in today was to request your assistance in tracking down a solo Navi who's been causing some trouble in Net City. However, given the situation, I'm going to leave that issue in the hands of the Net Police for now. I want the two of you to be ready in case of another attack, or, god forbid, an escalation."

Blues glanced at Enzan, reading intent in his face. They nodded simultaneously, and Blues added an 'on call' notification to Enzan's schedule out of habit.

"If you want to make some discreet inquiries, keep your eyes open, it wouldn't hurt," Meijin suggested, idly spinning his chair slightly. "There's also the matter of your re-certification."

"Ah, yes." The Commissioner smiled, leaning over to tap at the keyboard and bringing Enzan and Blues' battle record up on the main screen with a few keystrokes. "Normally it would be a formality, but up until this morning the recent virus activity has been pretty light; you've not had much to test yourselves against."

Enzan inclined his head, acknowledging the truth of that; it had been some months, Blues calculated, since the last major incident, and longer since they'd been pushed to their limits.

"There's also the fact that the government are talking about standardising rankings and levels," Meijin interjected dryly. "What are you doing this time next week, Enzan-kun?"

"Nothing that can't be postponed," Enzan said, glancing at Blues for confirmation. Checking their schedules, Blues quietly blocked out most of the next Sunday as Net Saviours business as his Operator asked, "What are you planning, Meijin-san?"

"Don't call me 'san'," the man protested automatically, turning to type something into his console. "We may as well have the four of you re-certify and check out your levels at the same time, to get it over with."

"In other words, Netto and Rockman too," Enzan concluded, glancing at Blues, who had to admit that the prospect of even a simulated battle – as a team, again – was more than welcome. "Have you told them yet?"

"Not yet." Meijin's goggles gleamed. "Perhaps you'd like to, Enzan-kun."

"Perhaps," was all Enzan said, but Blues took it as an order anyway, arranging the information into a databurst and pinging it off to Rockman's address. As Enzan and the Commissioner fell back to discussing the Sci-Labs incident, he couldn't help but wonder whether the blue Navi's upgrades had affected his battle abilities. He'd been too focused on the enemy, earlier, to watch Rockman fight the way he would have liked to, but there was time now. Tapping discreetly into the HQ computer system in order to access Sci-Labs' records of the fight, Blues settled down to watch.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Infinite Gravity  
Part: 3/18  
Rating: T  
Characters/Pairings: Rockman & Blues, Netto & Enzan  
Notes: Set a good five years after canon. This is slightly AU in that I've played fast and loose with canon versions and background details - it's mostly based on the anime timeline, but there are some significant game and manga details in here too, as well as some made up stuff like new viruses and attacks. Please be warned that this fic contains shameless fanon cliches, because they are relevant to the plot.

**Infinite Gravity**

**3.**

The view from up here was amazing; it was like seeing all the way to the edge of the 'Net, even though Rockman knew very well that the cyberworld was practically infinite, limited only by network capacity. Net City was spread out below him, a patchwork of structures and parks, surrounded by the as-yet empty plains of uninhabited server space, dotted with the shimmering specks of virtual gateways.

Blues' databurst about next week's Net Saviours re-certification had been closely followed by an email from their father explaining that the virus attack had been a cover for a hack attempt – a mostly successful one, with the new DA project severely compromised. Netto, of course, had been all ready to dash back to Sci-Labs and either track down the culprits or rebuild the security system, before Rockman had reminded him that he still had homework to do. If they'd been needed, either Papa or Meijin-san would have sent for them.

Predictably, Netto hadn't taken that well, but he'd grudgingly acquiesced, settling down with his advanced Math programs on the laptop and a scowl of intense concentration. Rockman, by long-standing agreement (made at the point when Netto had been forced to realise that he needed to do homework to pass his subjects, and he needed to pass his subjects to get out of school), had left him to it, taking the opportunity to test out his new design by wiping out some minor viruses in the public network. He was pleased to find that the changes to his height, reach and balance, although admittedly not major – he was perhaps a head taller than he had been, as a generous estimate – felt entirely natural, as though he'd always been programmed this way.

The concept of 'growing up', however, was giving him a little trouble. Rockman had been perfectly used to his more youthful design, which had been broadly based on a ten-year-old Netto. Even when Netto had hit his first growth spurt, making it obvious that he was growing up and they no longer matched, Rockman had accepted it because it had never occurred to him that things could be otherwise. Netto was still Netto – which, he supposed, was his answer. He was still Rockman, after all. Stretching out his right arm, he formed his buster, aiming at the distant line of the horizon for a moment before releasing the weapon.

Originally, he'd intended to spend some time in the City before Netto called him back, maybe check out the latest custom chips that the stores were offering and see if anyone on the Colosseum bill was worth watching. Eventually, however, he'd found that his feet were leading him in the direction of the Silver Tower, the highest point in the City. After all the trouble that Net City had gone through over the years – and every new maniac or mafia wanted to destroy or control it, it seemed – it was nice to see it laid out so calm and peaceful. Kicking his legs in empty air – only a short drop to the next ledge down, like giant steps – Rockman stretched, wondering whether to go and check in with Papa at the labs or see if any of his and Netto's friends were free for a game. It would be interesting to see how they'd react to his redesign, too.

Some infinitesimal change in the atmosphere, though he couldn't have said what, made him abruptly aware of another's presence at his back. Rockman smiled, not even turning.

"Hello, Blues."

Blues stepped past him, pausing at the edge for a moment before vaulting casually down to the next level. "Rockman." It was almost a pity, Rockman thought, that there was no wind in the cyber world to whip his hair dramatically. Blues leaned back against the 'wall' of the ledge, slanting a brief and typically impenetrable glance up at him. Rockman gave him a slightly apologetic half-smile.

"Sorry about running out on you earlier," he felt obliged to say. "I heard about the hack attempt from Papa."

"It wasn't worth sticking around for," Blues told him, crossing his arms across his chest. "We tracked the signal back as far as Net City, then lost it in the traffic." He looked up at Rockman again. "What are you doing up here, of all places?"

Rockman shrugged. "I like the view. What would you have done if you had traced the origin?" he asked, genuinely curious. There wasn't much that any Navi could do against a human hacker, other than block a signal and make very sure that their personal firewalls were secure.

Blues merely shrugged. "Who knows. It would have been a lead. All we've got to go on is the data Sci-Labs are playing with."

"Mm. Papa will figure something out," Rockman declared confidently. He made a mental note to speak to Netto about one of the programming projects they were working on which might prove useful. "We should keep a watch out for other incidents, though – a single, isolated data theft is pretty unlikely."

"HQ has taken it on as a case," Blues confirmed. "Keep your guard up."

"Of course, what do you take me for?" Rockman protested, laughing a little. Blues just looked at him, expression blanked by the visor so that he could have been amused or incredulous. Rockman itched to just reach out and pull off that red helmet; instead, he removed his own, turning it over in his lap. Despite his size upgrade, its blue and yellow panelling remained the same as ever. Black hair, shading to a matching blue at the ends, fell around his face as he looked up.

"Any battle upgrades to match the design ones?" Blues asked eventually after something of a pause. There was a hint of something unfamiliar in his voice that Rockman couldn't quite identify, and he frowned.

"Not especially?" Rockman shrugged, uncertain. "Some increase in speed and strength, of course, and the extra mass-potential will increase maximum charge, but Netto-kun says Papa did it to decrease system stress in Cross Fusion."

"So in theory your combined power could be greater," Blues concluded, still watching Rockman with that blank face.

"Well, it's not like we can test it now." Rockman turned his helmet over in his hands, then crammed it decisively back into his head, jumping down to stand beside Blues. Not for the first time, he couldn't help but marvel that they were now almost of a height.

"There's an infested area in the City electrical grid that could do with clearing out," Blues offered calmly, easily reading Rockman's intentions. Rockman smiled at him.

"Great. Let's kick virus butt!" Almost immediately he blushed, sure that he must be channelling Netto, but Blues' mouth had actually quirked with a hint of a smile. Even if he was laughing at Rockman, that was worth it.

* * *

"To your left!" Blues called, turning towards Rockman even as he deleted a small swarm of Spark Bees with an efficient slice of his default blade. Swinging around, Rockman discovered a quartet of angry Mettools advancing on him, mattocks out. Leaping back to get a better range, he fired off a volley of shots while still airborne, catching them before they could attack.

"Nice one," Blues acknowledged, flashing past Rockman in a red-and-silver blur as he landed. Face heating a little at the compliment, Rockman turned to watch Blues carve efficiently through a pack of viruses that were deleted before they knew what hit them. Even five years on, Rockman could remember his own first battle against Blues as if it was yesterday – that level of speed and power, unlike anything he'd seen. Where his own strength had been hard-won, with the aid of friends and his admittedly rather unique relationship with his Net-Op, Blues really was just that amazing.

"You too," he called with a smile, firing off a quick shot to take out a Garuba straggler then turning back to his own battleground. They'd staked out the central mesa of the power exchange as a base, and most of the small fry viruses had taken the bait and been deleted. There were only a few stragglers left, Mettools and Fire Knights trying to clump together to look more threatening. Setting his stance carefully, Rockman raised his buster and breathed in slowly – not that Navis actually breathed, but that was what the process _felt_ like. Gathering the charge, he sighted carefully, then fired.

The viruses were vaporised instantly, the light from the blast searing away the blue of the cyber-horizon for a moment. Although he'd thought himself prepared for the kickback, the strength of the blast, much greater than expected, knocked Rockman for six; his feet left the ground and he would have gone flying if not for Blues, who caught him by the shoulders and held him fast.

"...whoa." Rockman sagged bonelessly against Blues' chest for a moment, stunned, before pulling himself together. "Um. Thanks." He dusted himself down, blushing furiously and not quite able to meet Blues' gaze.

"Impressive," was all Blues said, in that tone of voice that implied a raised eyebrow and left Rockman uncertain as to whether he was being genuine or sarcastic.

"I guess maybe Papa did put in battle upgrades after all," he said, staring down at his buster in bemusement. He hadn't noticed any system changes...

"You're just not used to your new mass-potential," Blues disagreed quietly, stepping to the edge and turning to look back at Rockman. "That Program Advance this morning was stronger than you expected, too."

Rockman blinked, realising that he was right. Relieved, he smiled at Blues. "So I guess I just need more practice, again, huh?"

Blues grinned, quick and fierce, and Rockman had to fight to subdue the sudden nervous fluttering in his middle. A tip of the red helmet indicated a direction, and Rockman followed it, looking out over the plain of the power grid to an ominous sparking shadow in the distance, where something altogether larger than a Mettool fed the electrical energy.

"Stingrex?" Rockman queried, stepping up to the edge beside Blues and squinting at the far-off shadow. The electric spider viruses were pretty rare, preferring to hide in the shadows and siphon energy where they could.

"Looks that way," Blues agreed, re-forming his sword in a scatter of pixels. "Are you in?"

"You bet." A Stingrex wasn't a particularly tough enemy, being weak in defence, but they tended to be both strong and vicious in attack. If he'd been alone, without Netto to back him up, Rockman would have bypassed this fight; with Blues, the odds were definitely on their side. Rockman flexed his hand, forming his buster, and took off towards the virus at flash-flight speed.

Blues caught up to him after a moment, turning mid-air to call "North-South!" over the static wind of their passage. He sped up then, a blur even to Rockman's experienced eyes, clearly intending to take the North for himself. And indeed, as Rockman closed in on the virus, he could see that its pointed feet had damaged the panels to its sides, its chitinous black body crackling with the energy being given off. It was a good thing that this was a mostly unused area of the grid, Rockman thought as he twisted in the air, charging his buster again. The amount of real-world damage that this thing could cause would otherwise have been serious.

"Charge shot!" he shouted as he fired, giving Blues adequate warning of his intentions. As he'd hoped, the kickback was enough to slow his descent; righting himself in the air, he dropped the last few feet to land in a crouch, just out of the Stingrex's range.

The very angry Stingrex – his blast had taken out one of its back legs and left a pixelating wound on its abdomen. Only the charge it was siphoning from the grid was keeping it functioning, Rockman realised as Blues darted in from its other side, sword flashing in a bright arc that ended in a clash of sparks against a razor-edged spider leg. Rockman winced at the way the crawling electric field reached out to envelop Blues, but Blues just grinned, _pushing_ forward with enough force to cleave right through the chitinous limb. Impressed, Rockman took aim as the Stingrex howled and Blues somersaulted out of its way, firing off a volley of shots that slipped past its furiously waving legs to impact the body.

That brought its attention back to him, and Rockman had to dodge fast as spiked limbs stabbed and slashed at him. Taking advantage of its distraction, and the damage he'd already caused it, Blues shot in beneath its broken leg to slash at the body. Rockman gasped as a talon scythed through the air, Blues evading damage only by dint of his speed, and hastily applied some firepower of his own, aiming for the face and its clusters of yellow eyes.

Either he got lucky, or the Stingrex was already too damaged to protect itself quickly, because it reared up, shrieking, as his shots hit home. Seeing his chance, Rockman prepared another charged shot, making sure to brace himself thoroughly as he aimed at the Stingrex's unprotected underside. The blast still knocked him backwards, but only by a couple of steps. As the Stingrex curled protectively around its wounds, already defeated if it only had the intelligence to realise it, Rockman watched in awe as Blues dropped out of the sky, sword extended, to deliver the finishing blow.

Vital data irreparably damaged, the virus gave one last shudder and subsided into a cloud of rapidly dispersing pixels. Rockman straightened from his crouch, dismissing his buster and picking his way carefully through the damaged panels towards Blues.

"That was pretty amazing," he couldn't help saying – he was trying to restrain himself, really, because Blues knew he was good, he didn't need Rockman to tell him so. Blues just shrugged, a subtle inclination of his head giving away his sideways glance at Rockman as he dismissed his sword.

"It wasn't much of a virus," he pointed out dryly; Rockman felt his face heat even as he smiled.

"We work pretty well together, though, huh – oh great," he sighed, mood broken, as a flicker of motion behind Blues caught his attention. Blued turned, following his gaze and sighing himself at the sight of another cluster of small-fry viruses, clearly attracted by the sparking panels.

"Met?" one of them chirred, eyeing the two Navis warily, and soon the entire group of them had taken it up as a chant as they advanced.

Blues stood his ground, arms folded across his chest. "Well, there goes the neighbourhood," he observed, deadpan. Startled, Rockman couldn't quite suppress a giggle, and his sudden mirth must have caught Netto's interest, because there was a flicker of curiosity through the link and next thing he knew, a viewing window was opening overhead.

"Rockman? What's so – hey, no fair virus busting without me!" Netto protested indignantly.

"Hi Netto-kun." Rockman beamed up at his Operator. "I can come back if you like; we already cleaned out the worst of the infestation."

"So I missed all the fun?" Netto demanded, adding a "Hi Blues!" and a wave as said Navi finished despatching the Mettools with a single blow and moved to flank Rockman.

"Netto-san." Blues glanced over at Rockman. "I should leave now, anyway; Enzan-sama's meeting is due to end shortly."

"He has meetings on a _Sunday_?" Netto exclaimed incredulously. Ignoring him for a moment, Rockman raised a hand in farewell, any goodbyes he might have said feeling suddenly inescapably awkward, and watched as Blues logged out.

* * *

"So the two of you just randomly decided to go delete viruses solo?" Netto had put away his laptop, which Rockman hoped meant he had completed his homework, and was sprawled across his bed, PET held up so they could speak face to dace.

"Ah, pretty much?" Rockman rubbed the back of his head, faintly embarrassed. "We make a good team, even without you and Enzan, and I needed to get some training in anyway. I think I'm starting to get the hang of this upgrade now."

"Huh?" Netto flipped himself over onto his elbows, frowning down at the PET. "What's to get used to? You're not that much different from before, you know."

"Yeah, I know." Rockman smiled at Netto's perplexed face. "Mass-potential has an exponential effect on maximum charge, Netto-kun. Remember that Program Advance we used this morning?"

"Yeah, it nearly sent you flying – oh!" Netto blinked, clearly getting Rockman's point. "So stuff like Program Advance and Charge Shot is gonna be that much stronger now? Awesome!"

"See how awesome you think it is when you get knocked off your feet in front of... everyone." Rockman stuck his tongue out as Netto's grin turned to laughter. "Just wait," he promised direly, shaking a joking fist at his Operator. "It's that much stronger in Cross Fusion anyway..."

"Yeah, I remember the first time." Netto made a face, and Rockman grinned – he was right, they really had gone head-over-heels, entirely unprepared for the augmenting effect. "We should probably get some training in – aw man," Netto groaned, counting on his fingers. "Next weekend's that thing, isn't it? Maybe we can stop by the labs after school..."

"Don't you dare neglect your homework, Netto-kun." Rockman put his hands on his hips, glaring. It was a source of constant frustration to him that Netto could be just as brilliant as Enzan or their father, if he'd only bother to apply himself.

"Okay, okay," Netto grumbled, sitting up to lean against the wall. "One day won't hurt though, right? Email Papa and ask if we can stop in tomorrow or something, okay?"

"Netto-kun, they're probably all busy with the hacker data," Rockman pointed out, but he sent the email anyway.

"Oh yeah, did Blues say anything about that?" Netto asked eagerly, looking suddenly a lot more interested.

"Only that it wasn't worth sticking around for," Rockman relayed with a shrug. "Honestly, Netto-kun, you shouldn't let Enzan-kun rile you up like that. You're supposed to be friends, or at least partners."

"We are," Netto protested, frowning down at Rockman in what was obviously honest puzzlement. "He just gets so full of himself sometimes!"

Rockman snorted, unable to hide his amusement. "Says _you_."

"Hey!" Netto protested, pouting. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing." Rockman cast hastily about for a way to change the subject. "Ah, Netto-kun – do you remember that program you were working on a while back?"

"Huh?" Netto blinked at him, obviously thrown, and took a while to come up with the memory in question. "You mean the Sticky Chip?"

Rockman made a face. "I still think that's a silly name." He couldn't deny that it was kind of accurate, though – an accident a few months back, involving charged panels and a magnet virus, had shown that combining negative charge with magnetic effects could trap a Navi in the resultant 'sticky' field. Of course, Rockman had been the trapped Navi at the time (and he still thanked his lucky stars that it had been Roll to rescue him, rather than – well, someone else), but that hadn't stopped Netto from trying to duplicate the effect for offensive use. It had actually worked quite well, until they'd hit a snag in integrating it to the Navi weapon chip system, and then school had started back up and the project had got lost amongst programming classes and virus busting.

Netto made a face right back and dragged his laptop back out of his school bag. "It works, Rock-nii. What about it?"

Rockman shook his head, amused, and plugged himself into the computer once Netto had it started. "Ah, I was just thinking, could we modify it to catch a data wave, do you think?"

"You mean like that hacker?" Netto stilled for a moment, eyes unfocusing as he thought about it. "That – might actually work. Good idea, Rockman!"

Pleased, Rockman went to open the program for editing. "Well, we need a way to fight it, right? Oh," he exclaimed apologetically, realising that he'd neglected to impart that crucial bit of information. "That's right, Netto-kun. HQ has taken on the case, too."

"Huh?!" Netto sat bolt upright for a moment, gaping like a fish, then sighed in a very put-upon manner, bending back to the keyboard. "Nii-san, you've gotta _tell_ me these things!"

* * *

"Enzan-sama?" Blues queried as the door of the apartment closed behind them; he'd logged back into the PET as Enzan was leaving the Ijuin mansion, but wasn't entirely sure whether his Operator had even noticed. "How was it?"

"Blues?" Enzan did sound surprised; he pulled out the PET as he kicked off his shoes, talking to Blues as he crossed the living room. "Much as expected. Are my Net Saviour duties prejudicial to my role in IPC, aren't I too old for these childish Net Battling games, where do I see myself in five years – the usual." Blues winced internally, entirely able to imagine the tone of the elder Ijuin's voice over that.

"Did you discuss your plans?" he asked neutrally, checking the time and comparing the listed contents of the refrigerator with the menus of several local takeaway outlets.

"Not yet." Enzan shook his head, frowning. "I haven't decided yet, and I don't want him forbidding me outright – or worse, hiring my replacement." He set the PET down on the windowsill, pressing the projector button and leaning on folded arms. "We did discuss the hacker issue, though. He's authorised extra security measures for the more sensitive projects."

For all the good that would do, Blues thought, sharing an amused glance with his Operator. Sci-Labs' security was among the best in the world.

"We'll deal with that tomorrow," Enzan confirmed, gaze turning back to the world outside the window. "Did you have a productive afternoon, at least?"

Blues shrugged, examining his own stats critically. He'd got a decent workout, anyway, although unless something big came up they'd likely have to wait until the next weekend to really stretch themselves as a team. "Rockman and I cleared out the infested area we encountered earlier. Nothing we couldn't handle solo. He's taking to his upgrades pretty well." He curled his hands into fists, remembering the startling _warmth_ of Rockman's shoulders under his hands as the other had leaned into him for balance. It was faintly disquieting, almost as unexpected as the easy way Rockman had removed his helmet, up on the tower.

"Upgrades?" Enzan frowned, considering. "Why wasn't Netto with him, anyway?" Almost immediately, he dismissed the question with a wave of his hand. "Whatever. So long as they don't hold us back." He grinned, swift and anticipatory, and Blues found himself echoing it, understanding the words that weren't spoken.

"Yes, Enzan-sama." He would just have to work harder to stay ahead of Rockman, that was all. If that meant comparing their skills directly – well, all the better. He would look forward to it.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Infinite Gravity  
Part: 4/18  
Rating: T  
Characters/Pairings: Rockman & Blues, Netto & Enzan  
Notes: Set a good five years after canon. This is slightly AU in that I've played fast and loose with canon versions and background details - it's mostly based on the anime timeline, but there are some significant game and manga details in here too, as well as some made up stuff like new viruses and attacks. Please be warned that this fic contains shameless fanon cliches, because they are relevant to the plot.

**Infinite Gravity**

**4.**

"Hi guys!" Netto fairly bounced into the ice cream parlour, clearly revitalised by the welcome sound of the final school bell a few minutes earlier. Rockman, who had had to endure a full Math lesson's worth of Netto's mental complaints, echoed the sense of relief as he logged quietly into the local network. Only Gutsman immediately noticed him, Glyde and Roll being engaged in some kind of argument over Rush, but his reaction – eyes wide and jaw dropped – made Rockman grin a little.

"Rockman got taller, de gutsu!" Gutsman proclaimed disbelievingly, reaching out with a thick finger to poke Rockman in the shoulder.

"Huh?" Several voices echoed at once; Roll looked up with a smile that turned into a wide-eyed stare to match Gutsman's, and three viewing windows popped open overhead as Yaito, Meiru and Dekao all grabbed for their PETs to see.

"Isn't it great?" Netto enthused, beaming down at Rockman. "Papa upgraded him this weekend."

"Eh-heh." Rockman rubbed the back of his helmet, thoroughly embarrassed, as Rush loped over to sniff warily at his knees. "Hi, guys."

"Interesting." Glyde rubbed his chin, the first to recover. "It would seem that this new form is designed to more closely match Netto-san, correct?"

"Uh-huh." Rockman stepped diplomatically out of the way as Gutsman poked at him again, still looking extremely confused. "It's supposed to make Cross Fusion easier, but we haven't tried it yet."

"Does it feel any different?" Roll finally asked, blushing almost as pink as her armour. She gravitated to his side, looking up at him with wide eyes, and Rockman winced internally, hoping they weren't back to this again. Roll-chan had grown out of her crush on him, or so he'd thought.

"I'm still me, Roll-chan," he answered her as gently as he knew how, hoping he wouldn't have to let her down again. She surprised him, though, rolling her eyes and poking him sharply in the chest.

"Well, who else would you be?" she demanded, grabbing him by the arm. "Now come tell Glyde that Rush can too come back to Yaito-chan's with us after..."

_Heh._ Netto's amused voice echoed in his head; Rockman looked up to see his Operator stuffing his face with ice cream. _Rockman is Rockman, and Roll-chan is Roll-chan, huh?_

Rockman smiled. _Yeah._ He wasn't the only one who'd grown, upgrades or no upgrades.

"Hey, hey, wait a minute!" Dekao demanded, swiping Netto's ice cream dish and holding it away from him. The Navis stopped what they were doing, watching Netto's furious attempts to reclaim his hostage dessert. "The real question is, did he get stronger?"

"Of course he did, dumbass." Jumping onto his chair, Netto reached over Yaito's head to retrieve his ice cream, careless of Glyde's outraged protestations and Meiru's mortified attempts to get him to sit down. "Want to try us?"

"You betcha!" Dekao snatched up his PET, and Rockman saw Gutsman's eyes brighten at the prospect of a fight.

"Hah! Prepare to get your ass kicked!" Netto taunted, but he stepped down from his chair hurriedly as the store's elderly owner appeared from nowhere, brandishing an ice cream scoop.

"Hey hey! No battling in the restaurant, you!"

_Netto-kun_, Rockman prodded his Operator silently as Dekao and Yaito protested – albeit in very different terms – and Meiru tried to apologise for them all. _Don't we have to get to Sci-Labs?_

"Ah, that's true!" Netto swallowed the last bite of his ice cream, ducking under Dekao's flailing arm to retrieve his PET. "Gotta go catch Papa – see you later, guys!"

"Ah! Netto!" Meiru-chan's exasperated voice followed them out of the restaurant. Netto just laughed, snapping feet into his skates as he hit the pavement and took off towards the labs.

"You're in a good mood, Netto-kun," Rockman observed, unable to keep from smiling a little himself; with their link, Netto's cheerfulness really was infective.

"Of course!" Barrelling around a corner, Netto took the ramp up to the freeway footbridge, ticking off reasons. "I got out of Math class alive, I got ice cream, and we're going to test out Cross Fusion! Plus did you see Dekao's face?" He snickered, and Rockman grinned in return.

"I saw Gutsman's."

"Man, he kept poking you like you were a hallucination or something." Netto all but flew down the opposite ramp, letting momentum carry him past the turning that led to HQ and through the holographic gates to the industrial park where the science complex was located. "How long have we got?"

"Papa said six, so that's another fifteen minutes or so," Rockman reported, checking his internal clock. And indeed, as Netto approached the building, there seemed to be a general outpouring of staff leaving for the day. Rockman pinged greetings to some of the Navis that he knew, a receiving a few back as Netto stopped by the doorway to take off his skates.

"Ah, Netto-kun!" a familiar voice exclaimed, a short-haired woman in a lab coat stepping out of the throng. "And Rock-kun too, of course – are you here to see your father? How is school going?"

"Hi Miyamoto-san!" Rockman called cheerfully from the PET, echoed by Netto. Dr Miyamoto had been promoted to head of the software programming team during his and Netto's internship here last summer; she specialised in AI megastructural theory, which made Netto's eyes cross and Rockman's head ache. Papa had told them to study hard so they could understand it one day, because it was an important component of big servers like Net City.

"...going to test out Rockman's new upgrades in Cross Fusion," Netto was explaining enthusiastically. Miyamoto-san grinned at him, shouldering her bag.

"You'll have to stop by the department and let me get a look at these mysterious upgrades, boys. I have to run right now, but it's good to see you doing well."

"You bet – oh, hey!" Netto called over her as she turned to leave. "Can we use the chip converter sometime?"

"Sure – stop by the lab!" The professor turned to wave as she headed for the car park. Rockman blinked, not having anticipated that.

"Netto-kun, you want to use the chip converter for the Sticky Chip?" he asked as Netto headed into the building. "Why? I thought it wasn't compatible with Navi chipset systems."

"I thought of a way to limit the effects to enemy data," Netto explained, halting by the reception desk and looking about with a furrowed brow as if deep in thought. Umino-san, busy tidying her work area at the end of her shift, looked up from her desk and gave a startled squeak at the sight of him, ducking her head again with a blush.

"Hey Rockman, did Papa say where we're doing this?" Netto asked, waving a vague and careless hand in the girl's direction as he passed. Shaking his head at his twin's manners, Rockman checked their father's email and then hopped into the Sci-Labs network to check room assignments.

"Room 3b in the sub-basement complex has the small dimensional array set up," he reported, pixelating back into the PET and pinging off a message to let their father know they were here. "You remember how to operate it, right Netto-kun?"

"Of course!" Netto set out for the elevator, then paused in mid-stride. "Uh, I think." Rockman shook his head tolerantly – it was probably a good thing that they knew one another from the inside out, because otherwise they'd likely fall out a lot more often – and transferred back into the network, accessing their father's files to download the instructions. When he returned to the PET, he found Netto already in the lab, watching Meijin-san fuss with the equipment.

"Ah." Rockman paused in surprise, but when he thought about it, it made sense that they'd need someone else handy in case there was a problem with the generator. It wasn't like they could control a Dimensional Area from inside it, after all. "Hi, Meijin-san." he spoke up cheerfully, examining the PET's systems. "Netto-kun, do you want to load battle chips?"

"Bad idea," Meijin-san said before Netto could get a word in. "This isn't an obstacle course – there's some old office furniture that you can use for target practice, but please don't destroy the building." He paused, light reflecting from his goggles. "And don't call me 'san'."

"Rock Buster it is, I guess," Netto said with a fatalistic shrug. Rockman sympathised; he wouldn't have minded practising a few Program Advance attacks, either.

"Come on, Netto-kun, let's do this," he urged with a smile.

"All systems are go," Meijin-san reported as Netto hopped over the radiation barriers – which had been salvaged from another laboratory who knew where – and into the DA field area. "Initiating – three, two, one!"

As the familiar dimensional borderline crept up to cover most of the laboratory, Rockman could feel the ripple-wave of the effects spreading to the cyberworld. Jittery without a connection that would allow him to manifest, he waited for Netto's signal.

It came in the form of the Synchro Chip slotting in, its ancillary programs beginning to convert his data for recombination. "Cross Fusion!" Netto ordered, setting the chain reaction in motion. To Rockman, it always felt like he was being pulled apart at first, no matter how many times he went through it. The process became second nature, but the feeling remained.

When the confusion cleared and his data had finished realigning itself, Rockman _was_ Netto, just as if his twin was wearing him as armour. As usual, he allowed himself to settle to the back of their shared consciousness, letting Netto take control. Analysing their power levels, he was pleased to find that their father had been right; energy usage was significantly down, and available system resources up by a good percentage rate.

"Hey, this feels awesome." Netto bounced up onto his-their toes, stretching arms skyward. "It's easier to move, or something."

_Papa was right,_ Rockman confirmed. _I didn't realise how much power was being taken up by compensating for the differences between us. This is so much better!_

Experimentally, Netto flexed their arm, forming the buster. "Wanna do some target practice?" Unspoken, but perfectly clear, was that it was better to be knocked on their ass now, even in front of Meijin-san, than to embarrass themselves around Enzan or Laika.

_Meijin-san did say we could destroy this stuff, _Rockman assented as Netto's eyes went to the piles of discarded equipment and furniture that had been placed in the area. _Maybe take it slow at first, though – Cross Fusion is always stronger than you expect..._

"Yeah, yeah." Netto took aim at a battered filing cabinet, firing off a couple of standard shots that put some sizeable holes in it. Blinking at the resultant debris, Netto whistled. "Whoa. Even standard's stronger – I'm gonna try a charge shot!"

_Careful..._ Rockman began as Netto braced himself, checking that there was nothing behind them to trip over. Take aim, breathe _in_, and...

The filing cabinet – and several chairs stacked to one side, and everything behind them for a good ten metres – vanished in white heat, instantly vaporised. Rockman's sensors blanked out as Netto was temporarily blinded, and they were thrown back with such force that there was no chance for them to regain their footing. The entire Dimensional Area rang like a bell, reds and purples pulsing through the yellow-blue-green of the intersect wall as they were flung directly into it, hitting at about waist height and collapsing to the floor.

"Ow," Netto groaned after a long moment, struggling back to his feet with a wince. Still a little stunned, Rockman thought for a moment that it was snowing until he realised first that they were indoors and second that the particles settling around them were actually tiny fragments of melted and cooled metal from the destroyed furniture. If not for the Dimensional Area, the fire alarms would undoubtedly have been going off.

_Whoa,_ he murmured mentally.

"Impressive," Meijin-san noted over the intercom system. "What's your damage level?"

"We're okay," Netto said, although Rockman knew very well that he would have some bruises tomorrow. "It was just a surprise – let's carry on."

_Netto-kun_, Rockman began worriedly, not really sure what he was going to say. Netto was right; they couldn't afford not to master this.

"Try bracing yourself sideways to the direction of fire," was Meijin-san's contribution. "Take your centre of gravity below the line of fire, and keep your back foot extended behind you to counterbalance."

"Right." Netto nodded, a determined frown overtaking his features. "Rockman, let's limit the power output to fifty percent – for now, anyway."

_Good idea, Netto-kun._ Rockman took care of recalibrating the settings as Netto braced himself carefully, following Meijin-san's instructions as he took aim.

"Ready? Fire!" Netto yelled as he let off the shot, taking out a stack of dilapidated folding chairs with a much more contained but still impressive blast. The force of the kickback was still enough to stagger them, but they kept their feet, leaning forwards into it to avoid the worst of the effects.

_That was a lot better,_ Rockman said, pleased; Netto grinned, straightening from his crouch only to brace himself again, taking aim this time at a battered three-legged table.

"Yeah. Let's try seventy-five percent now!"

_Okay_. Rockman adjusted the calibration again, and this time the difference in power was noticeable, the kickback like a physical blow. They managed it for a moment, albeit skidding back for a metre or two with enough force to leave tracks on the concrete floor, but then two things happened at once. They overbalanced, legs going out from under them, and the Dimensional Area vanished all of a sudden, the hexacellular intersect wall peeling back and taking their Cross Fusion with it.

Rockman, re-materialising sprawled inside the PET, blinked up at the familiar green system architecture of his world for a moment, wondering what had just happened. They couldn't have taken out the DA generators; those were sealed and shielded in the roof of the lab. Maybe there'd been a power failure...?

He was interrupted in his bemused musings by the sound of Netto swearing rather loudly. Activating his external cameras, Rockman peered around. The laboratory lights and equipment were still on, so it couldn't have been a blackout, and his Operator was lying sprawled on his back, cursing at the ceiling.

"Netto-kun, language!" Rockman protested, secretly rather glad that he hadn't been the only one to fall on his face as a result of... whatever that had been.

"Netto!" Meijin-san called sharply from the monitoring console. Rockman switched views to see him frantically typing commands. "Distress call from HQ! Viruses are invading the main database!"

"Eh?!" Rockman and Netto exclaimed in unison. Rockman ran a couple of quick system diagnostics as Netto leapt to his feet, grabbing the PET and racing over to the console.

"Go on ahead – I'll catch up! Plug in, Rockman EXE – transmission!"

"Right!" Rockman uploaded into the system, where Meijin-san already had a secure communications channel open to the HQ network. Without hesitation, Rockman hijacked it, widening the transmission band and shunting the data flow to one side so that he could increase speed without worrying about obstacles. Netto tried to compare high-speed transmission to flying, or surfing; for Rockman, who had never experienced either, it was a thrill all its own.

He lanced into the Net Saviours HQ on a tail of light, re-materialising directly outside the secure, guarded firewall that protected the main databanks. Or, Rockman realised with a sinking feeling, what _had_ been a secure firewall. The holographic, triple-locking gateway had been torn apart, only sparkles of corrupted data remaining around the edges, and the cohort of Net Police Navis that rotated guard duties were nowhere to be seen at all. Put simply, it didn't look good.

Forming his buster, Rockman ducked carefully through the gap, unsure of exactly what to expect but all too aware that things were likely to get rapidly worse. The first thing he saw, though, was a flash of red and purple against the towering white pyramidal stacks of the data storage system. _Blues,_ Rockman realised, with a flash of relieved warmth that did a great deal to put paid to his apprehension. They could face almost anything, together.

As he began to take in the rest of the scene, though, the apprehension returned threefold. Blues, who had clearly come ahead of Enzan as Rockman had Netto, was fighting with his default sword out against a group of what had to be Net Police Navis, while another group of the white-and-greens had surrounded the concentric swirl of the data retrieval processor and were chipping away at it with their arm blades.

"Blues!" Spotting an opening, Rockman dove into the fray, aiming his buster at the feet of a Navi who was trying to attack Blues from behind. "What's going on?"

"They've been infected!" Blues ducked under a slice, coming up into a solid kick aimed at an attacking Navi's midsection. "It may be transmissible – don't let them land a hit on you." He spun, long hair flaring out dramatically as he blocked an attack with his sword – left handed, Rockman realised, though Navis were designed ambidextrous – and _punched_ with his free hand, staggering the crazed Navi back.

"Got it!" Rockman somersaulted out of the way of two attacks that came at him from different sides, letting the Navis smack violently into each other as he took up a position on the high ground of a cluster stack, firing at the corrupted Navis attacking the core program. Really, he thought grimly, aiming at feet and weapons where he could, this was a job for Searchman; as it was they could only hold off the infected Navis as best they could until Netto and Enzan arrived with battle chips that they could use to capture the rogues. Even if the Commissioner authorised it, Rockman privately knew that he couldn't delete fellow Navis unless there was really no other option.

Risking a glance at Blues – embattled by six or seven infected Navis, and still being forced to fight defensively as he tried to avoid damaging any of them beyond repair – Rockman set his jaw, turning back to his own fight with renewed determination. To his relief, his attacks had led most of them to abandon their assault on the core, clearly seeing him as a better target. Tumbling easily out of the way as they made for him, Rockman fired off a few shots before leaping to higher ground, on the basis that the further from the core he could lead them, the better it would be.

The opening of a viewing window overhead was a blessed relief; Rockman jumped back to evade a slash, glancing up at his Operator.

"Netto-kun! They're infected, we need to capture them!"

"Got it!" Somewhere in the background, Rockman could hear Enzan's voice, too; he spared a flash of relief for Blues, and even knowing it unnecessary would have liked to look over and check on him, but Netto was already feeding in battle chips. "Gravity Bomb, Electro Net, slot in!"

Easily grasping Netto's intent, Rockman leapt backwards to put himself out of range, firing the gravity weapon into the centre of the pack that was chasing him. As the energy field crackled and widened, sinking into the surface of the panels and spreading out in a dark stain, the Navis were first slowed, then stopped altogether, the weaker among them dragged down to the ground.

"Electro Net!" Rockman wasted no time, deploying the forcefield to cage the infected Navis in a criss-cross of charged bars. Although the electric containment barrier wasn't exactly painless – as Rockman knew to his cost – none of the Net Police Navis cried out or even exhibited discomfort, their eyes still fixed unblinkingly on him. It was creepy, and Rockman rubbed at his arms, glancing around to make sure nothing was sneaking up on him.

"Netto-kun, can the Net Police isolate them?" he asked hopefully. "This won't hold forever..." They should go check on Blues and the program core, too.

"Meijin-san's got it," Netto reported after a moment, as a new, reinforced barrier sprang up, blue and pulsing with energy. Rockman left the area gratefully, leaping from data stack to data stack to return to the central access platform where Blues was finishing up, icing one of the last stragglers. The other, Rockman realised as he sized up the situation, was out of Blues' line of sight – and aiming some kind of energy weapon, got from who knew where, at the program core.

"Netto-kun!" Rockman cried in alarm, drawing his Operator's instant attention. If the program went down, not only would the Net Saviours lose years' worth of data, but he and Blues would very likely be trapped in the collapsing system, unable to make it out in time.

"Crap!" Netto, clearly, saw the danger. Just as clearly, though, Rockman could see the glow of energy gathering at the weapon's barrel. "Rockman! Battle chip, Area Steal: slot in!"

Rockman could feel Netto slotting in the Dream Aura chip as well, but the sound of his twin's voice was lost in the rush of near-instantaneous translation. Despite the incredible speed of the move, everything seemed to slow as he reappeared in front of the infected Navi – just as the shot was fired. The Dream Aura shield seemed to take forever to coalesce; Rockman could feel the heat of the blast even before it hit, was calmly aware that he was going to take damage from this. Netto's usually solid, encouraging presence in his mind was laced with anxiety and incipient panic, but what really stood out was the sight of Blues, who had realised what was happening a fraction too late, lunging desperately for the rogue with his sword out and the strangest expression on what could be seen of his face.

Even braced as he was, and with the partial protection of the still-forming Dream Aura deflecting the worst of the damage, the pain as the blast hit home was staggering. Rockman gritted his teeth against a scream, feeling for an agonising moment as though he'd been drenched in acid, or bathed in fire. Sensor ghosts danced in his vision as he collapsed to his knees, unable to hold himself upright, and the last thing he saw as Netto forcibly logged him out was the grim set of Blues' mouth as he ripped through the rogue Navi like an avenging demon.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Infinite Gravity  
Part: 5/18  
Rating: T  
Characters/Pairings: Rockman & Blues, Netto & Enzan  
Notes: Set a good five years after canon. This is slightly AU in that I've played fast and loose with canon versions and background details - it's mostly based on the anime timeline, but there are some significant game and manga details in here too, as well as some made up stuff like new viruses and attacks. Please be warned that this fic contains shameless fanon cliches, because they are relevant to the plot.

**Infinite Gravity**

**5.**

As soon as he'd verified that the rogue Navi had been forced off the Net, Blues logged out himself, jumping immediately from his own PET into Rockman's. He was just in time to catch the blue Navi as he swayed, knees buckling and strength obviously fading fast.

"Shit! Rockman, hang in there!" Hikari Netto was yelling with what Blues identified as true fright in his voice, feeding Recovery Chips into the PET in quick succession. Lowering them both carefully to the floor, Blues was able to get an accurate picture of the extent of the damage. Rockman's left arm was missing below the elbow, and his right badly damaged and pixelating dangerously; there were patches of less severe damage marring his shoulder and side. While the Recovery Chips were preventing his systems from going into cascade failure and worsening the situation, they couldn't do much to repair the missing data. Serious, Blues concluded soberly, ignoring the unaccustomed sensation of worry crawling under his skin, but not immediately life-threatening.

Remarkably, Rockman still seemed to be partially conscious; he stared up at Blues with hazy green eyes, twitching his arm as though he would have liked to push himself up.

"Di...d you... ki... kill h'm?" Rockman breathed, face creased with pain; Blues shifted, holding him carefully off the ground to avoid aggravating the injuries, and wished that he had.

"Doubtful," he replied, low-voiced to slide beneath the shouts and exhortations of the humans in the background. "He'll be repairable." So would Rockman, but that, Blues felt, was rather not the point.

"G'd." Rockman closed his eyes, smiling a little, and Blues shook his head, wondering if Navis could become delusional from pain. "Wa...ssn' his fa...lt..."

"Blues!" Enzan's face suddenly eclipsed Netto's in the viewing window, and Blues snapped to attention as much as he could while still holding onto Rockman. "Get him to Sci-Labs, as fast as you safely can. We'll follow with the PETs – Dr Hikari is waiting."

"Enzan-sama." Blues dipped his head, acknowledging the order, and carefully gathered Rockman into his arms as he rose to his feet. For a moment everything seemed incredibly awkward – healing or even rescue missions were hardly his speciality – but then Rockman leaned trustingly against his shoulder, half-conscious and solid and warm. Blues gave up trying to analyse the situation and hijacked Rockman's PET systems without pause or apology, transferring into the network.

A secure line to Dr Hikari's node of the Sci-Labs network had already been established. Blues travelled it at a carefully reduced speed, most of his attention on trying not to jostle Rockman's limp and surprisingly light form. Rockman's systems were beginning to overheat, without the ameliorating effect of the Recovery Chips, and it seemed to be infectious; Blues frowned, tagging the sensation for later analysis even as he displayed his Net Saviours ID with a thought, bypassing the Sci-Labs firewall.

Dr Hikari already had the repair program up and running by the time that Blues carefully re-materialised them inside the computer, unsurprised to see the glittering green wall of a quarantine field surrounding them.

"Rockman!" Dr Hikari exclaimed, sounding more than a little horrified. Blues ignored him for the moment, moving to set Rockman carefully down in the glowing cocoon of the repair utility. For a moment, as he withdrew, it almost seemed as if Rockman reached for him, the pixelated wounds on his remaining arm flexing infinitesimally. Almost immediately, though, the white light faded into a soothing blue, indicating that Rockman was in stasis.

Screens and diagnostics began popping up around the prone blue form as Blues backed out of the way, taking up a watchful position in a corner.

"Blues?" Dr Hikari queried after a moment, shifting his attention from the diagnostics in progress. Blues inclined his head politely in greeting.

"I will remain until Enzan-sama arrives and can scan me." Although neither he nor Rockman showed any signs of the violent behaviour that had afflicted the infected Navis, that was no reason to take chances. Eyes fixed on the disturbingly still form of Rockman, he settled in to wait.

* * *

Netto, PET in hand and skates already clipped to his shoes, had to be physically prevented from haring off at top speed and probably getting himself killed. Enzan, fully aware that things like traffic and security fences meant nothing to Netto right now, accomplished this by grabbing for the back of his shirt and holding him fast when he tried to take off.

"Hey!" Netto protested, struggling violently. "Let me go! Enzan!"

"Idiot," Enzan responded dryly, attempting to drag Netto in the direction of the other exit and the Police HQ motor pool. If Sci-Labs had been even a little further away, he would have had a helicopter scrambled; as it was, the waiting would have been a waste of time. "You're no good to anyone if you get yourself killed doing something stupid. Rockman's in good hands – now come _on._" Netto was either stronger or heavier than he looked, the stubborn fool; he had his heels dug in and was glaring at Enzan in a way that nevertheless failed to disguise the half-crazed panic in his eyes.

"Let go!" he repeated furiously, and for a moment Enzan thought that he might take a swing at him. "What are you doing?"

Enzan glared back. "_Trying_ to get you to see sense and come with me, you fool. It's quicker –" Abruptly, he was almost overbalanced as Netto ceased resisting.

"It is? Why didn't you _say_?"

Biting his tongue, Enzan chose not to answer that, instead turning and gesturing Netto to follow him. "This way." At a sprint, once Netto had yanked his skates off again, it took only minutes to reach the motor pool. Ignoring Netto's worried questions, Enzan scanned the assembled vehicles quickly and chose the quickest option, appropriating a police motorcycle from the startled officer who had been about to take it out on patrol.

"Net Saviours!" Netto assured the policeman earnestly, gaping as Enzan swung aboard the bike and kicked the engine over. "Enzan, you can actually drive this?"

"Stop wasting time," Enzan commanded, feeling immediately guilty as worry washed back over Netto's face. "Get on."

"Right!" Netto scrambled up behind him, clutching at Enzan with a yelp as he gunned the engine. The guard at the garage entrance gave them a startled look, but was too slow to stop them as they sped out onto the roads.

The police bike handled a little heavier than he was used to, and with Netto's added weight as well, it took him a couple of corners to adjust. Netto was a solid warmth at his back, arms locked tight about his middle, and Enzan had to wonder if the slight tremor was just his imagination taking advantage of the situation. He told it to shut up, trying to force his mind back onto the situation at hand. Rockman would need more than a little repair work, and the virus had the potential to seriously complicate things. For that matter, Enzan realised grimly, there was every possibility that Blues had also been exposed. Whatever the purpose of the attack, it had succeeded in putting the two most powerful Net Saviours out of commission, for tonight at least.

Bypassing the main front entrance, Enzan headed for the western sliproad that led to the labs' underground parking garage. The holographic gates that guarded the entrance parted to allow them through, recognising either the police bike's ID tag or the Net Saviour idents encoded into their PETs. Enzan braked sharply to a halt by the elevators, pulling the bike around into a wide circle, and Netto, headstrong as ever, leapt off before they'd even stopped moving, heading for the lifts at a near run. Enzan, more than a little irritated with himself for suddenly missing Netto's warmth against him, paused only to put the bike into park and kick down the stand before following.

The dull reddish glow of the secured elevator panel brightened and changed colour as Netto swiped his security card, casting a cool blue glow across the concrete. Netto all but hopped from foot to foot as they waited for the lift to descend, and Enzan curled his hands into fists to stop himself from reaching out, though whether he would have attempted comfort or smacked the idiot was up for debate.

"Netto," he chose the voice of reason instead. "It's not as if Rockman will get worse if you're late..."

"I know!" Netto practically dove into the elevator car the moment the doors opened, and his jerky stabs at the floor button forced Enzan to duck inside just as quickly as the doors reversed. "I know that," Netto repeated, quietly, staring at his feet as they were carried smoothly upward. "But – he's my brother." He glanced up at Enzan, for once devoid of his usual energy. Enzan blinked, a little startled; apart from the occasional accidental 'Nii-san,' neither Netto nor Rockman made much reference to their unconventional relationship in front of others.

"All I can do is be there with him, so I have to do that," Netto explained with a shrug, turning to face the doors as the lift drew to a half. Turning that over in his mind, Enzan dropped the subject, following him out and down the hall toward the Net Development area.

"Rockman!" Netto burst into the lab at a dead run, heading straight for the main console where his father was examining raw diagnostics reports. Enzan followed at a more leisurely pace, pausing in the doorway to examine the scene. His eyes went first to Blues, who was waiting patiently in the corner of the holo-display; having ascertained that he was unharmed and showed no immediate signs of infection, Enzan took in the offline figure of Rockman, motionless in the green light as diagnostic and repair programs crawled over him.

"He'll be fine, Netto." Dr Hikari looked up with a reassuring smile. "None of his personality or memory files were corrupted."

As Netto visibly sagged in relief, Enzan pushed away from the door to join them at the console. "What about the virus?"

"Virus?" Dr Hikari blinked at him, then turned back to scroll through the scan results again. "There's no sign of any infection... What form did the virus take?"

"Before becoming infected, one of the Net Police Navis reported that a shadow had attacked the guards at the firewall." Blues stepped forward, speaking more to Enzan than the Professor. "The vector of infection seemed to be contact or damage."

Enzan narrowed his eyes, extrapolating rapidly. They couldn't afford to assume that the virus would be obvious or consistent in its attacks and symptoms, and until they could examine the Navis in custody, the only sure test would be a full system scan.

"Blues, take a complete scan," he ordered, moving to one of the secondary consoles and plugging in his PET to upload the most recent baseline data.

"Yes, Enzan-sama." The screen flickered as Blues retuned it to the quarantine mainframe that he and Rockman were currently inhabiting. The red and grey and purple of the his armour faded out as the bright rings of the scanner rolled over him; Enzan had to forcibly relax himself as he watched the results scroll by. The idea that Blues could be infected, however unlikely, brought back certain unpleasant memories that he preferred to forget.

"Clear," Blues reported eventually, just as the results window popped up to confirm the diagnosis. No AI variation, and no new executables. Enzan permitted himself a small sigh of relied, nodding wordlessly to Blues as Netto peered over his shoulder at the screen.

"I still wanna know what that thing was after," he complained, leaning back against the edge of the desk – where, Enzan deduced, he could both speak to Enzan and keep an eye on Rockman at the same time. Obligingly, he swivelled his own chair to keep the main holo-display in view.

"Death and destruction, most likely," he threw out, not believing it for a moment. "Viruses – infective viruses – are random, you know that."

"Then why HQ?" Netto countered, crossing his arms and staring mulishly at Enzan. "It's too secure to be random – it's gotta mean something."

"We'll find out more when the captured Navis are analysed, along with the access logs," Enzan concluded, though privately he wasn't yet convinced that the two incidents weren't connected. Two large-scale attacks on important 'Net institutions in two days? Too much of a coincidence.

Netto was opening his mouth to speak when the console beeped, signalling the completion of the repair program. Instantly, he was upright and hanging over his father's shoulder as Rockman's program was powered down for reboot. Enzan shared an amused look with Blues, who had returned to the holo-display rather than the PET. That gave him pause for a moment; surely Blues couldn't believe that the thoroughly scanned Rockman could be any threat? Frowning, Enzan recalled that Rockman had been forced offline in a battle situation. Even with a full restart, those recent memories might influence his actions.

As it happened, the whole thing was rather anticlimactic anyway. Rockman fuzzed at the edges a little before opening his eyes and looking about, focusing first on Blues, then on Netto's beaming face, then on his surroundings.

"Ah... hi?"

He was going to be fine, Enzan concluded, though he wasn't entirely sure whether it applied more to Navi or Operator.

* * *

"Blues?" Enzan asked, somewhat at random – as far as Blues had been aware, he'd been absorbed in the drafts of the quarterly shareholders' report. Putting aside the IPC security logs that were faster for him to check than any human, Blues pixelated into the corner of the PC screen, looking out at his Operator.

"Yes, Enzan-sama?" Enzan had put aside his suit jacket and was sitting at his desk in his shirtsleeves, staring into the distance as though deep in thought.

"Have I... changed?" Enzan asked, face guarded but voice thoughtful; Blues froze, wondering first whether he was serious, then what had inspired such a line of thought, and finally how to answer. What was the right answer to a question like that?

"Enzan-sama," he said finally, when the silence had stretched on for so long that the weight of his Operator's eyes on him became heavy. "You're eighteen. If you hadn't changed in the past ten years, I wouldn't have been the only one concerned." It was true that Enzan had grown up, but by all human standards he had been very adult-like even at twelve.

"Not that." Enzan waved a hand dismissively, but he was smiling a little, Blues saw. "I've become older, and we've become stronger; that goes without saying." He paused, sinking back in the chair that no longer dwarfed him. "Sometimes I think that if I hadn't met Netto I might have been a completely different person."

"Netto-san?" Blues had long held the opinion that Rockman's Operator was good for Enzan – as well as the suspicion that Enzan's feelings in the matter were stronger than he let on.

"Mm." Enzan shrugged, focusing back on Blues. "It's his birthday soon; we should get him something." Unspoken was the secret knowledge that Netto's birthday also counted as Rockman's, due to their unique relationship. Not that Navis generally celebrated anything of the sort, but Blues made a note anyway; the one time he had given him anything – it had been a copy of his Speed Plus modifier chip, last year – Rockman had looked at him with wide, amazed eyes, as though he couldn't believe it. A small but significant part of Blues wanted to see that face again; Rockman was infectious when he was happy.

"How are the security updates working out?" Enzan asked, bringing the subject back to work as he picked up the shareholders' report again.

"No problems so far," Blues reported, somewhat relieved to be back in safer waters. "Firewalls are holding steady, and there are no increases in virus activity."

"Good." Enzan nodded in dismissal, and Blues returned to his duties with an extra tinge of worry gnawing at his core. With an unidentified hacker out there chasing DA data, and Sci-Labs and HQ already attacked, IPC was bound to be in the firing line sooner or later. The question was when – and who?

* * *

"Hey, Rockman." Netto looked up from his laptop with a barely suppressed yawn; he'd given up on homework long ago and was working on the Sticky Chip program.

"Huh?" Rockman, absorbed in training routines on the PC, started in surprise as Netto spoke; he'd been half convinced that his Operator had fallen asleep, he'd been silent so long. "What is it, Netto-kun?"

"Are you ready for this thing tomorrow?" Netto closed the laptop and set it aside, jumping up to stretch with a yawn. He wandered over to the desk, chip case in one hand and a handful of loose chips in the other.

"I think so." Rockman flexed his arm, switching from his buster back to a hand as he dismissed the training program – a randomised obstacle and target course that he and Netto had written themselves. "I've pretty much got used to the upgrades now."

Netto scowled at him, dumping chips all across the keyboard as he sat down. "Forget upgrades, you nearly got deleted!"

"Papa fixed me right up," Rockman hastened to reassure his Operator, consciously reaching out through the link to let Netto feel his presence. "I'm good as new, see?" Hopping back into the PET window, he brought up his status screen to prove it. HP, power, strength, speed – all functioning at maximum level.

"Yeah." Netto smiled, but it looked forced. "Nii-san, I'm sorry I sent you in there like that."

"Huh?" Rockman frowned at him. "Netto-kun, you'd better not be feeling guilty over that – it's not like there was any other option."

"I should have thought of something," Netto argued stubbornly, spreading his chips out to examine them. "I knew it was dangerous, and I sent you anyway."

"There was no other choice," Rockman reminded him again. "Besides, it was my choice too, Netto-kun. I – and Blues – would have been trapped if the system went down."

"Ah, you're right, you're right!" Netto scrubbed his hands through his hair, disordering it wildly and dislodging his bandanna so that it drooped over one eye as he smiled at Rockman. "Hey, do you know how they're going to test us tomorrow, anyway?"

"Not really." Rockman shrugged. "The Commissioner and Manabe-san will be there too, though, so they'll probably pull out all the stops. We should be ready for anything."

"Yeah – maybe they'll put us up against captured viruses?" Netto guessed, starting to organise his chips into piles by effect. Rockman watched him stack the four elemental Sword types alongside the pile of cyber-swords, and frowned in thought.

"Netto-kun, we should probably plan on using Program Advance..."

"I am, I am!" Netto collected up a set of Sword chips and the three Cannons, stacking them to the back of the case. "See?"

"Right." Rockman caught himself fidgeting, and had to admit to himself that he was a little nervous about tomorrow. Not even because they didn't know what to expect; it was simply that it would be his first proper fight since he'd got hurt, and there was nothing like waking up in the quarantined repair lab to put a damper on your confidence. He'd be fine once he was actually fighting, but the waiting had him twitching.

Sighing, Rockman wished fleetingly that Blues was around to spar, or even just shoot up viruses with. He'd stopped by Net City earlier, but while Gutsman, Roll, Iceman and Numberman had all accosted him in ones and twos, Blues had been nowhere to be found. Rockman could have messaged him, could even have stopped by his PET in person, since he had an access code, but he didn't want to seem like a nuisance. Blues was a busy Navi, working for Enzan-kun and IPC, and it was bad enough that he'd had to rescue Rockman earlier in the week.

Squirming uncomfortably with embarrassment, Rockman felt his face heat. Somehow, his abiding memory of the incident had become not the pain of the impact or the panic he'd felt from Netto, but the solid warmth of Blues' arms as he'd carried Rockman to Sci-Labs.

Okay, Rockman admitted to himself, maybe that was another reason why he wasn't messaging Blues right now.

"Rockman? Hey, Rockman!" Netto's hand waving right in front of the screen startled Rockman out of wherever his mind had been.

"Ah! Sorry, Netto-kun," he rubbed his head sheepishly. "Did I miss something?"

"You just totally zoned out." Netto eyed him suspiciously, then shrugged. "Whatever. Hey, Nii-san, go over these chips with me!"

"Sure." Rockman beamed at his Operator, letting Netto's unflappable confidence wash away the last of his jitters. Together, they could beat anything.


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Infinite Gravity  
Part: 6/18  
Rating: T  
Characters/Pairings: Rockman & Blues, Netto & Enzan  
Notes: Set a good five years after canon. This is slightly AU in that I've played fast and loose with canon versions and background details - it's mostly based on the anime timeline, but there are some significant game and manga details in here too, as well as some made up stuff like new viruses and attacks. Please be warned that this fic contains shameless fanon cliches, because they are relevant to the plot.

**Infinite Gravity**

**6.**

Enzan pulled out the PET as he entered the HQ building, allowing Blues to tap into the local network. There were no announcements posted, aside from the standing notice that the damaged database was under restricted access, but via the external camera feeds Blues could see that Dr Hikari, of all people, was waiting at the elevators.

"Good afternoon, Enzan-kun, Blues," he greeted them as they came within speaking distance.

"Professor." Enzan nodded brusquely, coming to a halt before him. "You're involved in the re-certification?"

"Ah, the Commissioner was kind enough to request my assistance." Dr Hikari pulled out his own PET, making some kind of note. "Speaking of which, I wanted to thank the two of you for your help last Monday."

"It was nothing," Blues replied, echoing his Operator's dismissal of the matter. In truth, he could still recall the disconcerting warmth and weight of the injured Rockman; he had ascribed the discomfiting memory to the injury itself, and hopefully today would allow him the opportunity to put it to rest. It had been a while since he'd seen Rockman at full power.

"Well, anyway." Dr Hikari smiled at them. "Enzan-kun, the Commissioner is waiting for you in his office. Would you mind letting me borrow your PET while you speak to him?"

Enzan noticeably hesitated, and Blues had to prevent himself from going immediately on the defensive. Dr Hikari must have noticed, because he waved an apologetic hand.

"Ah, I'm sorry – it's part of the testing, and we may as well get it out of the way now. Analysis only, I promise."

"Blues?" Enzan queried him directly, and Blues understood from the tone of voice what he wasn't saying.

"Yes, Enzan-sama." It was as much a reassurance as an acknowledgement of orders, or he tried to make it so. He trusted Dr Hikari, as Rockman's designer, and even had he not, he was perfectly capable of locking up his own PET if necessary.

"I'll see you later," Enzan capitulated with a nod, handing over the PET and stepping into the elevator.

"I'll take good care of him," Dr Hikari promised as the elevator doors shut behind him. Blues had to fight to keep himself relaxed, halfway convinced by the sharp, _interested_ look in the scientist's eyes that this too was part of the tests. "If you'll come with me, Blues?"

"Of course." It wasn't, after all, as though he had much choice in the matter, but with their Net Saviours certification potentially on the line, it was better to be cooperative.

"How is your work at IPC going?" Dr Hikari took the other elevator, keying in a floor that Blues wasn't familiar with. "Sci-Labs are looking at buying in a new mainframe from you, most likely next year."

"Everything is secure and on schedule," Blues allowed, filing that piece of information away for later. "Has any progress been made in tracing the hacker?"

Dr Hikari sighed, shaking his head as he exited the lift car. "Very little, sadly. As far as we can tell, no one has tried to sell on the stolen data, and the authorities are keeping a close eye on sales of some of the rarer components that are used in the production stages. Nothing has come up as suspicious, though." He keyed an access code into a door that was marked simply '5B', entering quickly as it hissed open.

Blues wasn't entirely sure what he'd expected, but the room was barely more than a cubicle, a glass-walled segment of a ring that stretched around a central hub containing what was immediately identifiable as an exceptionally powerful supercomputer. Red and green lights flickered on its blank white fascia, providing a dim illumination for most of the array of cubicles, which were shut down and darkened. The only exceptions were the room they occupied and the next, where Meijin sat at the console on the other side of the glass. Blues caught only a glimpse of the screen he was working on, but it was enough to recognise Rockman's familiar form and crest.

"Right, then." Dr Hikari set the PET down into a niche on the console, seating himself. "Let's get started, hm? Plug in, please."

Obeying silently, Blues established a connection and uploaded himself to the console, pixelating onto the screen. The setup, he discovered, was even more interesting than he'd thought; the console was just a shell terminal for the central computer, as were all the others in the array, all thoroughly separated with some of the strongest firewalls he'd ever seen.

"Recording under way," Dr Hikari said in a brisk tone of voice that made Blues stand to attention, awaiting orders. "Please state your ID, designation, and allegiance for the record."

"ID XZ25-75399-IPC1," Blues recited calmly and without inflection. "Designation, Blues. Allegiance: Ijuin Enzan." Solely – the entry in IPC's database, as well as the tags in his code which had marked him as product and property of the company had been removed years ago, by Enzan himself.

Dr Hikari raised an eyebrow, but made no comment as he powered up a number of diagnostic programs. "Just let these run, Blues-kun. Please list your non-standard abilities and functions."

"Yes." Blues paused momentarily to order his thoughts, allowing the flickering green rings to run up and down his body. The sensation was faintly prickling, a little like equipping an Electro Sword. "Strength Plus, Speed Plus, Agility Plus. Enhanced HP regeneration, and increased computational functions to handle tactical analysis. Program Advance, Full Synchro, and Cross Fusion."

"Excellent." One of the diagnostics beeped, and Dr Hikari exchanged it for another which hummed as it circled Blues. "Forgive the personal question, Blues-kun, but why are you a Net Saviour?"

"Because Enzan-sama is." It was the quick, easy answer, and Blues was aware that it wasn't sufficient reason. Not any more. "Because I enjoy the challenge, and there are very few who can challenge us. Because..." he paused, despite himself, then spoke the words anyway. "Because I have been a Darkloid, and I know how vulnerable the cyberworld can be." There were other reasons, true, mostly centring around the fact that Rockman and Netto-san were in the Net Saviours, but they were harder to articulate and the personal business of himself and his Operator.

"Ah." Dr Hikari glanced up at him, something like sympathy in his eyes; Blues remained impassive. It was over, and had been for years. "Again, please forgive the question – what's your opinion of Enzan-kun?"

Blues raised a sardonic eyebrow, rather regretting that the Professor couldn't see it. "Enzan-sama is my Operator." It was, he felt, all that needed to be said.

"Would you disobey his orders?" Dr Hikari persisted, though he had the grace to look apologetic as he asked the question. Blues frowned beneath the visor, not particularly liking the direction this was taking.

"If it became necessary." It did, occasionally, for Enzan's own good.

"Mm, leaving that aside." Dr Hikari brought up the results of the diagnostics, recording them into the session monitor. Blues barely glanced at them, well aware of his own stats. "Would you consider that you – the two of you, that is, of course – work better alone or as part of a team? Step onto there, please," he added as a glowing panel appeared on the grid beside Blues.

Stepping onto the panel, Blues considered his answer carefully. "That would depend on the threat level of the opponent, and the abilities of the team. We'd rather work alone than have to drag along someone who can't take care of themselves." And in that, he was utterly confident that he spoke for Enzan as well. They wouldn't work with anyone who wasn't worthy of them, and the list was short. It might have been ego, once, but they'd been strong even then, and only grown stronger.

"As expected, hm?" Dr Hikari pressed a key, and the panel beneath Blues' feet brightened and began to vibrate a little. "Try to stay still for this one; I'm just taking a mass-potential reading."

"Understood," Blues murmured, standing perfectly still until the vibration ceased and a window popped up with the results.

"Excellent; just a little longer," Dr Hikari assured him, typing fast as he amalgamated all the diagnostic results into a single file. "You're primarily partnered with Rockman on Net Saviours missions, and occasionally Searchman when issues become international." He glanced up at Blues for a moment, then went back to his work. "How do you get along with them?"

"Searchman is never a problem to work with," Blues reported dispassionately. "He and Laika-san are strong." He paused for a moment, very aware of just who he was speaking to. "Rockman – we've worked together for a long time. We know each other's styles." More than that, he was aware that he could trust Rockman, absolutely. "We make a good team." The _best_ team, Blues knew. Whatever the future might hold, between Sci-Labs and IPC and college, splitting them up was not going to be an option.

* * *

Netto looked up hopefully as the elevator dinged, doors hissing open, and smiled in relief as Enzan emerged.

"Hey!" He bounced upright in his seat, waving, although really it wasn't as if Enzan could have missed him, since there was no one else in the corridor. Manabe-san had left him here with a kind smile and instructions to wait, and that had been long enough ago to send him into deathly boredom. Whatever Rockman had been doing with Meijin-san, he'd flat-out refused to respond to Netto's silent pleas for entertainment.

"Netto." Enzan nodded at him, flipping his hair out of his eyes as he took the seat beside Netto's. "How did your interview go?"

"Eh." Netto shrugged, lacing his hands behind his head and leaning back, staring at the plain institutional ceiling. "It was no big deal, Manabe-san's cool." He glanced over at Enzan, inwardly pleased when he surprised the other boy with a hint of a genuine smile on his face, rather than the usual smirk. "You had the Commissioner, right?" A few years ago, he might have accused Enzan of being the favourite, too. A grin tugged at his face at the memory.

"Yes." Enzan glanced at him briefly, then back at the opposite wall. Netto wondered what was so fascinating about it. "It wasn't a problem."

"Ah, says the genius," Netto teased with a grin, kicking his legs out and crossing his ankles. It was vaguely annoying that Enzan was _still_ taller than him, if only slightly. "Hey, do you know what they're gonna do with us this afternoon, anyway?"

"Don't call me that," Enzan protested, but it seemed to be pretty habitual since he didn't even glare. "I don't know – didn't I tell you this last week?" he asked, looking sideways at Netto, who just shrugged. Enzan rolled his eyes at him. "They always waived the tests before, since they'd seen us in action."

"Yeah, we haven't had much of a challenge recently, huh?" Netto observed sagely, wincing as Enzan did glare at him. Funny how a Look – it deserved the capitalisation – from Enzan could be so much worse than any number of indignant elbowings or smacks to the head from his other, more physical friends. "What?"

"Don't tempt fate," Enzan told him darkly; Netto huffed, folding his arms across his chest.

"It's the truth! Besides," he slanted a speculative sideways look at Enzan, "Don't tell me you wouldn't jump at a challenge, just the same way we would."

"I'd rather be bored than see the network ripped to pieces again," Enzan retorted dryly, but Netto could see a hint of a smile hovering in the corner of his mouth.

"Hah!" he crowed, because Enzan had admitted it. "If you're that bored, then I challenge you to a Net Battle!" He blinked, belatedly recalling where he was – and that Rockman was still with Meijin-san – and made a face. "Once we get out of here, anyway."

Enzan smirked at him – the I'm So Superior kind, not the You're Amusing kind – and Netto had to suppress the childish impulse to kick him in the shins. "I doubt that'll be necessary – the point of today is to test our limits, after all."

"Are you saying you don't want to Net Battle with me?" Netto demanded indignantly, leaning forward to peer into Enzan's eyes beneath the white fall of his hair. He needed a haircut or something, Netto thought absently. "Or are you afraid to _lose_?"

Enzan, to his credit, didn't even twitch at that, but the smile that spread across his face was predatory. "You _wish_, Hikari." He matched Netto stare for stare, but there was something in his eyes that almost seemed to be _waiting_. Blinking in confusion, Netto abruptly realised that they were all but nose to nose – in the middle of HQ.

Blushing what felt like tomato red, Netto propelled himself out of his seat, pacing the length of the corridor impatiently. He was sure he could feel Enzan's eyes on his back, but when he turned at the end of the hallway Enzan was examining the opposite wall again. Frustrated and feeling ten kinds of paranoid, Netto stomped back to the little row of chairs near the elevator.

"What's taking them so long?" he demanded – whether of Enzan or just thin air, he wasn't sure – just as the elevator dinged to announce an arrival. Enzan huffed an amused breath, standing up to join him as the doors swished open on his father and Mejin-san. And, Netto realised with a vague feeling of surprise, the Commissioner and Manabe-san too.

"Excellent, you're both ready." The Commissioner nodded to Manabe-san, who produced a keycard and unlocked the plain, unlabelled double doors across from the elevator. Netto exchanged a wary glance with Enzan, wondering just what they needed to be ready for, but Meijin-san distracted him by holding out his PET.

"Rockman!" Netto all but grabbed for it, flipping back the guard and peering anxiously down at his Navi. Even trusting Meijin-san, it had been difficult to just hand Rock over.

"Hi, Netto-kun." Rockman smiled up at him, a reassuring presence when he reached out through the link.

_You're okay?_

_Of course I am,_ Rockman chided. _It was only a few diagnostics, Netto-kun, not the end of the world._

_I know that._ Netto made a face at his twin – well, what he actually did was think very hard about the face he wasn't making. Rockman laughed in his mind, familiar and comfortable. _Hey, Nii-san, are you ready for this? Whatever it is?_

_Of course. _Polite as ever, Rockman shut up as Netto and Enzan were ushered into the room. It was mostly dark, except for the light from the corridor, but Netto got a sense that this was a big space, a quiver of echo resounding as their footsteps rang on the floor.

With a click and a flicker, light bloomed before them, allowing Netto to see that this was neither conference room nor mainframe access point but a Net Battle arena. While the battle stage itself was lit and powering up, the rows of surrounding seats were dark and empty.

"I'm sure you're familiar with the setup." Meijin-san took the floor, light flashing off his goggles as he gestured to the arena. "We've made some modifications, however, with the assistance of Sci-Labs."

Their father cleared his throat. "You'll find that the cyber environment of the stage itself is fluctuating rather than static. We've also added a buffer to prevent serious harm to your Navis. It's a battle to log-out, not a real fight."

Standard Net Battle rules, Netto concluded, though the buffer part was new. "And the opponent?"

He really needn't have asked, he realised. The anticipatory smirk on Enzan's face as he stepped up to the opposite side of the stage told him everything he needed to know.

* * *

"Plug in, Rockman EXE – transmission!"

Rockman noticed the difference as soon as he uploaded into the localised network of the battle stage. The additional safety protocols slid into place behind him like an invisible web, feeling strangely familiar, and the grid itself, as he pixelated into the holo-display, felt somehow unstable beneath his feet. He realised why a moment later, as Blues materialised on the other side of the arena, and the terrain, which had been made up of neutral green cyber boxes, began to shift beneath them, shading into blue as ice crystals and sheets spread and crackled the landscape. Open-mouthed with awe at the sheer effort that had apparently been put into this operation, Rockman didn't miss the quickfire flash of Blues' grin as he shifted to steady himself on the icy surface.

"Are you ready?" Blues asked in a low voice, just loud enough to carry across the frozen space between them. Rockman grinned in response, only vaguely hearing Meijin-san reciting the rules to Netto and Enzan in the background.

"Always." He flexed his fingers, priming all his battle-related subroutines, as Netto's voice suddenly echoed in his mind, their thoughts beginning to fall into the familiar doubled patterns of synchronisation.

_You're going to have to watch out for the terrain, Rock-nii._

_I know._ Gingerly, Rockman tested his footing, keeping his eyes fixed on Blues. _Work with it, not against it, Netto-kun._

_Huh?_ Netto began; he had no time for more, because the automated countdown sequence had begin, numbers flashing red overhead.

The moment the starting chime sounded, Blues was in motion, streaking out of vision even from a standing start. Entirely as expected; Rockman kicked off the ground before the anticipated strike could impact, leaping straight up in a jack-knifed somersault as he fired his buster into the space he'd just occupied. There was a blur of red as Blues dodged the shot, and then they were both airborne amidst the flurry of ice crystals thrown up by the impact, sword edge ringing against the barrel of his buster as Rockman blocked a slash. For a moment it was like slow motion, frozen frames of Blues' grin and the heady thrill of delight as his core, and then Rockman twisted in the air, bringing one leg up to plant a foot in Blues' chest and kick them apart. He managed to get off a few shots as they fell, forcing Blues to twist awkwardly to dodge, but it cost him a neat landing; one foot skidding on ice, Rockman stumbled slightly, and Blues had closed the distance in the instant it took him to regain his balance.

"Battle chip: Sword – slot in!" Knowing that Blues and Enzan had an overwhelming advantage in close combat, Netto opened the real battle by evening the odds. Reading his intentions through the link, Rockman brought his arm up even as the weapon was forming, just in time to block the heavy slice that Blues aimed at him. Blues pressed his now slim height advantage, locking their blades and pushing hard; Rockman was forced backwards by dint of the slippery footing, but dug his toes in, pushing back with all his strength.

"Battle chip: Electro Sword, Flame Sword – slot in!" Enzan's voice seemed very far away, but Blues' breath of a laugh was low and immediate. Without hesitation, Rockman ducked and twisted out of the path of the blades, feeling the heat and prickle of sparks as they came millimetres from connecting. Sweeping his own sword in a low arc aimed at the knees, he forced Blues to jump out of range.

Seizing the advantage of the moment, Netto dropped further into the link, pushing their speed and reaction time higher as they moved towards Full Synchro. Together, they considered and discarded the option of matching opposite element to opposite element, opting instead to mix things up with reach and firepower.

"Battle chip: Long Sword, Hi-Cannon – slot in!"

Kicking off in pursuit, Rockman brought up the sword in an upward slice that met Blues' Electro Sword in a crackle of sparks. Staying carefully out of reach of the other, fiery sword – if only just – he braced the cannon at the end of a locked arm and fired.

At this distance, it was impossible for Blues to dodge completely, but he twisted lightning-quick, breaking the force of the shot against his crossed swords so that the fireball dissipated to either side of him, leaving him barely scorched. Impressed, Rockman allowed the force of the recoil to carry him back out of range – for the moment at least. His feet splashed in water on landing, and Rockman glanced down, startled, realising that the ice was beginning to melt, panels turning a deeper shade of blue.

_Work with it, huh?_ Netto said over the link. "Battle chip: Aqua Soul – slot in!"

Rockman smiled, letting the familiar transformation overtake him. They both knew that the best way to go up against Blues and Enzan on an equal footing was to use Blues Soul, but in a serious battle like this that would feel a little too like cheating.

As predicted, with the added elemental boost from the watery field environment, Rockman's Aqua Sword shattered Blues' Flame Sword on impact. The Electro Sword, though, he had to dodge, wincing as even the crackle of sparks flying past his shoulder was now a real threat of damage. Blues' predatory grin told Rockman that his opponent was about to take vicious advantage of his weakness.

_Netto!_

"Battle chip: Spark Shot – slot in!" Enzan got there first, and Blues' grin widened as he reformed his broken weapon into the insulated cannon and fired.

_Rockman! _Even if he managed to dodge, they were aware, the electric charge would be carried through the water to cause damage.

"Who do you think we are?" Netto all but yelled as Rockman brought his arms up in a futile attempt to shield himself from the oncoming electrical storm. "Battle chip: Metal Wheel – slot in!" The serrated wheel appeared in Rockman's hands, angled to catch the major force of the blast as it hit. Even still, he took damage, gritting his teeth as the current shook him like a rag doll.

_Hold on, Nii-san!_ Netto encouraged him, and Rockman could feel him clenching his own teeth against the backlash that fed through the link. _I've got an idea!_ "Battle chip: Aqua Tempest – slot in!"

The idea, in Rockman's opinion, was either utter brilliance or suicidal stupidity. Netto, however, had an absurd kind of luck with such things, and the damage was already done. Bracing himself against the electrical sting that shocked his palms numb, he released the waterspout _through_ the charged and sparking wheel.

"Hydro Electric!"

Everything exploded. Water boiled from nowhere, seething with crawling flickers of lightning as it engulfed the grid. Blues, unable to avoid despite his speed, was momentarily overwhelmed, and Rockman took advantage of the instant's respite to release the Soul Unison, sighing in relief as the elemental weakness lost its hold on him.

The relief was short-lived, shattered by Enzan's distant voice. "Blues – power up! Muramasa style!"

_Hell_. Rockman couldn't tell whether that was his thought or Netto's as they dropped almost automatically into Full Synchro. The possibilities of Perfect Synchro and Saito Style were examined and shelved for the moment as Netto slotted in Sword and Wide Sword chips, holding the Long Sword in reserve.

After the storm, visibility was near nil; the waterlogged grid was steaming, mist collecting in patches and rapidly thickening to fog. Rockman squinted his eyes shut, trying to track Blues by sound, and barely had time to dodge what would have been a finishing blow as Blues all but materialised out of the mist, sword held two-handed.

"Ack!" Rockman threw himself to one side, flipping around with blades crossed to deflect another hit. Unfortunately, in the fog he missed his footing, catching a heel on some invisible obstacle and overbalancing backwards with a cry.

One mistake, and swords or no swords, Blues was on him. Dazed from the impact and the abrupt loss of Full Synchro, Rockman blinked up at the tense, unsmiling form of Blues, who had him pinned under the weight of an elbow and knee with a sword at his throat.

"Yield?" Blues pressed, voice low and rough. Rockman simply stared up at him, stunned and bereft of any thought save for how _close_ Blues was, hair trailing over his shoulders to brush against Rockman's sides, and the warm tingling of his shoulder where Blues' hand was pressed against him. Distantly, most of his mind lost in the dark depths of Blues' visor, Rockman felt his cheeks heat with a helpless blush.

All things considered, it was lucky for him that Netto at least was still in possession of his wits.

"Yeah, right! Battle chip: Area Steal – slot in!"

The shock of the unexpected data download snapped Rockman out of his paralysis. With the pressure of the blade at his throat, he had no time for anything fancy, but it was enough to warp out, teleporting a few panels and ninety degrees to come out behind Blues, already charging his buster. With Blues caught off guard, his shot might even have connected, but before he could fire there was an almighty crash from somewhere in the distance, and the entire battle stage shook as the power flickered in and out, fluctuating dangerously.

"What the hell?!" Reacting quickly, Netto pressed the recall button and Rockman let himself be logged out without protest, just in time; one more ominous flicker and the power went out entirely, darkness engulfing the room for a few seconds.

"What on earth is going on?" the Commissioner demanded, just as the backup generators kicked in, emergency lighting flicking on. Simultaneously, all the PETs in the room beeped as a transmission was broadcast across the HQ network.

"Danger!" There was no video to the signal, Rockman discovered, only an unidentified Navi's voice print. "The infected Net police have broken free of containment! Repeat, danger!"

"Enzan!" Netto was already heading toward the nearest network port, PET in one hand and the other fishing for their spare chips. _Rock-nii, do you need a Recovery Chip?_

_Please._ Rockman checked his stats, wincing. _A high-level one, Netto-kun – we miscalculated that last round._

_Whatever you say, Rockman._ Netto found a likely port on a wall panel and paused to slot in the chip as Enzan came up behind him, PET in hand.

"Wait a moment!" Dr Hikari hurried over, looking concerned. "Make sure the network is stable before you plug into it – if the backup power blows, you'll be stuck, if not deleted."

"I'm checking it now." Meijin-san was typing something into the console attached to the battle stage. "Don't worry, it looks like only the peripheral systems were affected by the blackout. The central mainframe has a dedicated supply."

"Enzan-sama, based on the previous attack we will need to go in at full power," Blues said quietly from his PET. Rockman opened a communication window with a thought, and Blues turned to face him. "We may also need to consider the option of deletion rather than capture."

"We can't –" Rockman started to protest, but to his surprise Netto cut him off.

"He's right, Rockman." When Rockman looked up at him, making no effort to hide his unhappiness, he just glared stubbornly. _You didn't see the state you were in last week, Rock-nii._

_Netto..._

"Please don't concern yourselves." The Commissioner joined them as Meijin-san and Dr Hikari succeeded in bringing up an image of the network on the large overhead screen usually used for displaying battles. "The personality data of all the Net Police Navis is regularly backed up. Don't restrain yourselves for their sake, if it's necessary to delete them to destroy the virus."

Relieved, Rockman merely nodded acquiescence when Netto glanced down at him.

"Okay then, let's do this! Plug in, Rockman EXE! Transmission!"

"Plug in, Blues! Transmission!"

Uploading into the network in a stream of formless data, Rockman pixelated inside the mainframe expecting to see the infected Police Navis running amok and trying to cause system damage, much as they had last time round. The sight that actually met his eyes was entirely different. Instead of fifteen or twenty Navis, there was just one, larger than life and pulsing queasily as it hacked at a program with an arm from which sword blades jutted at all angles. Its white armour was twisted into strange shapes, gleaming with an oily sheen as Rockman watched, and it threw its red-eyed head back, howling.

"What _is_ that?" Rockman asked, staying back well out of its way. Somehow, he got the feeling that 'where are the rest of them?' was not a question that he wanted to ask.

"More to the point, what's _that_?" Blues leapt up to join him on a mesa, pointing in the opposite direction. Turning to look, Rockman gasped, eyes widening in horror. Where there should have been system grid and the stepped stacks of the server operating systems was nothing but a black hole, data streaming into its depths as it ate away at the network.

_Netto!_ he called mentally, unable to quite take his eyes off the data sink.

_I know – Papa and Meijin-san are dealing with it,_ his Operator responded. _We've gotta take on the virus!_

_Okay._ Turning his back resolutely on the slowly expanding hole, Rockman exchanged a glance and a nod with Blues before kicking off the mesa.

"Netto-kun! Strong chips!"

"You got it! Battle chip: Wide Sword; Salamander! Slot in!"

Consciously raising his attack level to concentrate the flames of the rare chip, Rockman let the inferno envelop him, bearing down on the mutated virus like a a firestorm. It screamed again as he hit it, bringing a spiked forearm around like a mace to try and brush him aside. It wasn't his imagination, Rockman realised as his sword clashed against its spiny blades; it really was evolving even as it fought, armour slowly twisting into bizarre new configurations.

He somersaulted backwards as the flames began to die, ceding the close battle to Blues, who darted in with Electro Sword and Variable Sword glowing.

"Battle chip: Cannon; Hi-Cannon; Mega-Cannon – slot in!" Netto fed in the data for the Program Advance, and Rockman took aim, waiting a few treacle-slow milliseconds for Blues to finish slashing at the virus' heavily guarded arms and back off.

"Zeta Cannon!" Seizing his chance, Rockman fired at the same time as Blues swung the Variable Sword like a whip.

"Sonic Boom!"

The virus reared back screaming as the attacks impacted, and the network itself seemed to shake beneath its footsteps. A viewing window popped open overhead, showing Meijin-san's sober face.

"Finish this quickly – the network will auto-shutdown in two minutes!"

"Oh no." Rockman sought refuge on a floating block, bracing himself thoroughly as he charged his buster to fire down at the thing. Blues blurred to a stop beside him, shaking his sword back into a hand.

"We have to give it everything we've got!" he called over the crackling sound of the creature's roars.

"Yeah." Rockman nodded sharply, mentally turning to his Operator and pushing the link open wide. _Netto-kun, Full Synchro, now!_

_You got it, Nii-san._ Netto dropped out of the link for a moment, then returned full force. _Enzan says to hit it from both sides – double team!_

_Right._ Knowing what was coming, Rockman was moving even as Blues vanished. First, the power up...

"Blues – Muramasa Style!"

"Battle chip: Blues Soul!"

Then, the attack, echoed in four voices as every scrap of offensive power was focused on this single chance.

"Fumikomizan!"

Everything distilled down to a single instant, the rush of translation and the bite of his sword carving through armour into vital systems.

Rockman had expected the shock of contact which shivered through him, and the wounded shriek of the virus, but the explosion of compressed, corrupted data caught him thoroughly by surprise and knocked him flying. He had time to realise what was about to happen and tear himself out of Full Synchro, and then something caught his hand and yanked him out of the network by main force as it shut down.

Rockman materialised inside a PET not his own, staring up at Blues, whose hand was still wrapped around his as the overflow energy of Muramasa Style crackled over them both.

"Are you all right?" Blues asked, low and exhausted, but with a genuine smile of victory and relief momentarily lighting his face. Rockman, though he opened his mouth to answer, found that words wouldn't come. All he could feel was the warmth of Blues' hand on his, and the sudden shiver of heat that shook his core as he finally consciously acknowledged something that he should have realised long ago.

_I love him, don't I._

It really was, he discovered, that simple.


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Infinite Gravity  
Part: 7/18  
Rating: T  
Characters/Pairings: Rockman & Blues, Netto & Enzan  
Notes: Set a good five years after canon. This is slightly AU in that I've played fast and loose with canon versions and background details - it's mostly based on the anime timeline, but there are some significant game and manga details in here too, as well as some made up stuff like new viruses and attacks. Blues' background, as discussed in this chapter, is a prime example of Stuff I Made Up. Please be warned that this fic contains shameless fanon cliches, because they are relevant to the plot.

**Infinite Gravity**

**7.**

"Hey, Rockman." Abandoning textbooks – just because he could see the applications didn't make integral calculus any less a form of torture, by hand – Netto wriggled upright on the couch, peering over the back at the PET on his desk. The couch was new, although it was actually pretty old and battered; he'd claimed it when his parents had redecorated last year. "What's with you? Don't you usually take off to Net City or somewhere while I study?"

"Mm, usually." Rockman looked up from the screens he was messing with, smiling. "I'm just running some diagnostics, Netto-kun. I've been getting some data hiccups since the incident last week."

"Really?" Netto abandoned homework entirely, climbing over the back of the couch to get a look. "What kind of hiccups? What's causing it?"

"Skips and jumps," Rockman elaborated, referring to the phenomenon of data that looped and separated minor code sections, usually fractionally small, when it got out of synchronisation. "It's very minor, Netto-kun; I'm not sure you'd even notice it, and it doesn't seem to be causing any problems right now." He shrugged, bringing his diagnostic programs to the main screen for Netto to scan through. "I can't find any one specific cause, and it's definitely not an infection – it seems like the PET is just wearing out again."

"Huh." Netto skimmed through the diagnostic reports, picking the PET up to talk to Rockman at a more comfortable angle. "I guess we do put a lot of extra stress on it. IPC's new model is due out at the start of August, right?" Maybe he could talk Enzan into getting him an advance model... they must need someone to test them...

"That's what the press release said." Rockman popped open a window, displaying the announcement email. Netto glanced past the IPC logo to the by-now-standard photo of Enzan, and rolled his eyes. At least it wasn't video this time.

"What's the spec look like?" He'd looked through it when the announcement was made, a couple of months ago, but it wasn't like he had money just lying around for upgrades. This Net Saviours stuff really put a strain on his wallet!

"Pretty good, for the price bracket." Rockman highlighted the relevant statistics on speed and capacity; Netto raised an eyebrow, whistling.

"Guess we'd better start saving, huh? Maybe Miyamoto-san might take us on part-time..." he trailed off, musing.

"Netto-kun!" Rockman actually sounded faintly alarmed; refocusing, Netto frowned at him in puzzlement. "You don't have time for a part-time job – there's Net Saviours, and you're already taking extra programming classes, even though you still put off your homework...!"

"Okay, okay." Netto pulled a face, slouching dejectedly into the chair. "I get it – you're right. We should stop by the lab this week, though, so we can run the Sticky Chip through the converter."

"Sure," Rockman acquiesced, smiling at him. "It'll be nice to see everyone again. And you know, Netto-kun, your birthday's coming up. Maybe Papa would get you a new PET, if you ask."

"I dunno, it's pretty expensive." Netto bit his lip, thinking. "Maybe he could upgrade this one, though..." It wasn't even very old, but warranties wouldn't cover Net Saviours work. Netto sighed, leaning back in the chair and staring up at the ceiling. "It's your birthday too, you know."

"Ah, not really." Rockman shrugged, looking a little embarrassed as Netto frowned at him. "Navis don't have birthdays, Netto-kun; it would just confuse everyone." He paused, tilting his head, and Netto didn't miss the silly smile that crossed his face. "Okay, except Blues, anyway."

"But I know, and Mama and Papa," Netto objected, as though they hadn't had this argument for the last three years running. He'd already thought of a gift for Rockman, and it was taking some effort not to inadvertently give himself away over the link.

"Let's not get into that again," Rockman begged in a rather heartfelt tone. "Did you finish your homework?"

Netto made a face at him. "For the moment. Don't start that again either, Rock-nii."

"Fine, fine." Rockman smiled out at him, materialising a digital block so that he could climb up and sit cross-legged on it. "Did you read that mail from Manabe-san?"

"About the virus? Yeah." Netto winced; that had made gruesome reading. The abrupt shutdown of the network had preserved the dissolved virus data on the edge of deletion, and the scientists studying it had discovered that when the virus had mutated within one of the infected Navis, it had absorbed its fellows to create the monster they'd fought. Hence the increase in its offensive capabilities, and also the instability of its form.

"No, the other mail," Rockman said, surprising him; Netto blinked as he popped a window open to display the message. It was headed simply 'Certification' and there was an attachment that looked suspiciously like the Net Saviours ID badge. Intrigued now, Netto scanned through the information, a heady bubble of glee rising up inside him.

"S rank, class 1?" He punched the air, kicking his feet up. "All right!"

"We did pretty well, huh?" Rockman smiled out at him, obviously pleased. "Especially since we got interrupted halfway through."

"They must have counted the virus fight as evidence too," Netto realised, remembering. "Good thing they didn't mark down – you almost lost it at the end, Rock-nii."

Rockman, to his surprise, blushed rather than scowling, looking away from him. "It – that data was unexpected," he muttered, and Netto couldn't escape the feeling that he was talking about something other than the virus' death throes. In the next second, however, Rockman brightened as the PET chimed with an incoming message. "Ah – it's Blues. Enzan-kun wants to know what rank we got."

"What did they get?" Netto demanded, watching Rockman closely as he communicated with the other half of their team. _Something_ was definitely up there, but it didn't seem like the best time to pry. Rockman couldn't keep secrets from him, after all.

"S rank, class 1." Rockman reported after a moment, smiling slightly as he looked up. "The same as us."

"Good." Netto exchanged a grin with his Navi, privately wondering when they'd have a chance to finish that aborted battle. It would be interesting to see if they really were matched, now.

* * *

"Enzan-sama." Blues' quiet tone was enough to get his attention. Looking up from the book he'd been absorbed in, Enzan arched a silent eyebrow at the PET propped on the arm of the couch. Easily interpreting the expression, Blues elaborated. "You have an email message from the Chairman."

Ah. Enzan put the book down, picking the PET up. If it was 'The Chairman' rather than his father – and that would have been how Shuseki signed the mail, too – then this was official business rather than anything he could ignore. Shuseki probably knew that, too, and used it; he was no fool.

"Show me," he commanded quietly, duly warned by Blues' lack of expression that he was unlikely to appreciate the contents. His father was an excellent businessman, but Enzan had come to realise over the years that familial relations weren't his strong point. He scanned the email quickly, noting the main points.

_IPC's Annual Shareholders' Ball will be held on Saturday June 10th... expected to attend... appropriate social set... very good prospects... _This last proved too much; jaw clenched, Enzan hit the key combination the delete the mail manually.

"That again, hm." Blues remained silent and impassive within the screen, and Enzan sighed, consciously pushing the frustration aside as he sank back into the couch. "He's becoming more insistent about it." It wasn't that Shuseki was unkind or unpleasant about it; he simply had his own vision of how Enzan's life should be ordered. Now that Enzan was of age – although legally speaking, he'd been effectively an adult for years, due to his position – that meant eligible girls being pushed in his direction at every opportunity. In Shuseki's view, there was no reason why Enzan shouldn't follow his own path, and that of every eldest Ijuin son – learn the trade early, become established in the business, and marry early to secure an heir for the family.

Needless to say, Enzan had other plans.

Gesturing to catch his attention, Blues brought his schedule up onto the screen. "Enzan-sama, the tenth of June is Netto-san's birthday. Should I go ahead and mark the IPC ball in anyway?"

Enzan delayed answering for a long moment, considering options, but finally had to concede. "Yes please, Blues." An obligation was an obligation – and Netto knew what his schedule was like. If he was planning anything, he would have mentioned it already. "Send a reply to the Chairman," he directed; Blues knew just the tone to take in these communications.

"Yes Enzan-sama." Dismissing the diary application, Blues was silent for a long moment before asking quietly, "Have you thought any more about your plans?"

"Not really." Enzan shifted into a more comfortable position, looking down at the Navi in the PET window. It had been Blues, however indirectly, who had jarred him out of the predestined path his birth had laid out for him. Blues was a fighting Navi, prototype of an IPC project that had been deemed too funding-intensive to continue. Eight years old and beginning his induction to the company, Enzan had been fascinated by the test footage he'd seen and had argued the developers into handing Blues over to him after the project was cancelled. His father had seen it as evidence of negotiating ability, but to Enzan it had been the first small rebellion in a path that had led him to the Net Saviours.

And now he was contemplating taking the final step.

"It's a difficult proposition," Enzan remarked dispassionately. Something in the Navi's face told him that Blues was listening intently, despite the expressionless mask of the visor. "The Company would survive my absence, but I'm good at my job." That said, though, there were others who could fill his shoes at IPC.

"But do you enjoy it?" Blues asked pragmatically; Enzan had to pause to consider that.

"Yes." It was true; cutting a deal in the boardroom or sponsoring an emerging technology could be a thrill, and he had a good working relationship with his staff. "Sometimes." That, he realised, was his answer for him. Exhausting and dangerous as it might be, life in the Net Saviours was never dull. This past weekend had brought it home – he'd forgotten how _alive_ facing Netto across a battle stage could make him feel.

"I don't need to decide anything yet," Enzan concluded with a sigh, getting up to pace over to the window. "Right now we should concentrate on the hacker case."

"Do you think that the virus incidents at HQ are related?" Blues asked as Enzan folded his arms on the windowsill, staring out at the rapidly darkening city. The blocky domes of Sci-Labs in the distance were a profusion of lights, work continuing into the night.

"Look at the pattern. Both were created viruses, highly advanced, attacking important Net-related institutions." Enzan shrugged one shoulder. "While the first case was a distraction for data theft and the second an attempt at destruction, there's something there..." He trailed off, frowning as the link tantalisingly refused to come clear. "I'd like to know what data was on the HQ server that they felt they had to destroy."

"Unfortunately, it went down with the mainframe," Blues contributed. "Meijin reports that the systems are still undergoing repair."

"And there's no way of knowing what specific data they were after," Enzan concluded grimly. "All we can do is wait."

"Enzan-sama?" Blues queried; Enzan brought the PET up to look directly at his Navi.

"For the next attack," he clarified simply. There was no doubt in his mind that there would be one.

* * *

"Netto! Hey, Netto! Over here!"

Netto, who had been about to head purposefully into Higure-san's chip store in search of rare chips (the old skinflint had an Ice Dragon that Netto was determined to talk him into selling), couldn't help but be distracted by the enthusiastic calling of his name. Unfortunately, as soon as he turned he was greeted by the sight of Meiru and Yaito, both laden with shopping bags, bearing down on him.

_Oh great_, he commented to the muffled sound of Rockman's smothered laughter as the girls caught him up and promptly, predictably unloaded most of their baggage into his arms. "Hi Meiru-chan, Yaito-chan."

"Thanks, Netto-kun." Meiru-chan smiled apologetically at him as Yaito just grinned, planting her hands on her hips.

"Excellent. You're just in time to join us at Akamichi's."

"Really? Cool." Netto perked up at the name of the popular juice bar. In the background, he could hear Rockman talking with Roll-chan and Glyde. "Don't think I'm gonna carry this lot all the way home for you, though."

"Of course not." Yaito sniffed primly, and Meiru giggled and patted his arm.

"Yaito-chan has a car waiting, Netto, don't worry."

"Well, good." Heaving his burdens up to make sure nothing was going to slip, Netto followed the girls up the street feeling like nothing so much as a beast of burden. At least, he thought with a sigh, it wasn't too far. "What did you do, buy out all the stores in town?" Most of the logos on the bags were unfamiliar, which probably meant girly stuff; he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Don't be silly," Meiru chided over her shoulder as she followed in Yaito's determined footsteps. It must be something about being rich, Netto mused, that made crowds just part for you. Enzan had it too.

"It's very important to have the right summer wardrobe," Meiru-chan explained earnestly. "We can't be seen at parties wearing the same things as last year, you know."

"What kind of parties are you planning on going to?" Netto demanded in disbelief, almost tripping over a step as they climbed to the balcony level of the outdoor mall. It was only a few yards further to the Akamichi Juice Bar, where somewhat to Netto's relief Tohru and Dekao were waiting.

"What are you doing here?" the latter demanded bullishly as Netto dumped his unwanted burdens into the back of the booth they'd saved.

"What's it look like?" Netto complained, sprawling out on the squishy seat with relief. "Someone get me something, I'm dead."

"You are not." Meiru-chan poked him in the shoulder until he slid along to make room for her. "Yaito-chan said she'd pay, since this was her idea."

"It was?" Netto opened an alarmed eye; Yaito-chan's ideas always seemed to involve crazily dramatic things happening to them. After a moment, when nothing exploded and his seat didn't try to kidnap him, he relaxed. "Awesome."

"Naturally." Yaito took a seat on one of the round stools at the end of the table, and snapped her fingers to summon a waiter. If anyone else had tried to do that, Netto mused, it would have come out hideously rude, but somehow it was just expected of Yaito-chan.

After ordering smoothies all round, Yaito placed her PET on the table and beamed around at them. "We are meeting to discuss arrangements for the summer," she announced.

Dekao frowned. "I thought we were meeting to drink smoothies."

"There's loads of school to get through yet," Tohru pointed out.

"Yeah, don't you usually go to Kingland anyway?" Netto asked curiously.

"Not this year." Yaito crossed her legs, one high-heeled foot tapping the air imperiously as she looked around their little group. "So, what are we doing?"

"Going to Jawaii!" Dekao announced immediately, puffing up a little as Meiru turned to him eagerly.

"Really? That's where my family will be taking our vacation..."

"Hmm." Yaito brought up a program screen and typed some notes. "I'm sure Uncle would let me stay at his private resort for a week or two. Netto?"

"Huh?" Netto blinked as their smoothies arrived, wondering whether he was being asked about his plans or to Jawaii. "Ah, I'm probably going to work at the labs again, sorry guys..."

"Aww, Netto." Meiru-chan pouted at him, and he made a face back at her. "You're no fun."

"I am so." While running off to Jawaii did sound like an awesome time, he wasn't about to risk their hard-won S1 licence by deserting the Net Saviours for the summer. Netto took a sip of the strange yellow-green concoction Yaito-chan had ordered for him as Tohru chimed in on his side.

"I'll probably be working too." He paused, clinking ice around in his glass before adding, "Of course, I have a number of onsen visits scheduled, including the famous Yatsuyama Hot Springs, which were established in mmph mph mm!"

While Netto and Meiru had both lunged, Dekao had got there first, stopping Tohru-kun mid-flow by clapping a hand over his mouth. Yaito giggled brightly, and Netto cast around quickly for a new topic before it could turn into a fight. Tohru might be shorter and skinnier than Dekao, but he had a surprising streak of determination and rarely gave up.

"Ah, that's right!" Netto exclaimed, bouncing upright in his chair as a thought struck. "Guys, who's coming to my birthday next week?" He'd vaguely planned on Maha Ichiban and maybe a movie – there was bound to be something new and interesting opening at this time of year.

"That's next week?" Meiru squeaked, flipping open her PET to check the calendar. "I nearly forgot!"

"Heh." Dekao grinned across the table, and Netto returned the expression, familiar with this ritual. "Birthday Net Battle!" Dekao demanded, and Tohru seconded him with a pleased smile.

"Hah, we'll take you on all at once," Netto declared, ignoring Rockman's half-amused, half-exasperated mental poke. "Afternoon at the Game Soul and dinner at Maha Ichiban – who's in?"

"You bet!"

"Fine with me!"

"Of course I'm coming," Meiru-chan chided with a poke in his ribs. Squirming away from her, Netto looked over at Yaito-chan, surprised to find her examining her own PET with a scowl.

"Yaito-chan?" Meiru was the one to ask; Glyde was the one to answer for his Operator, flickering into holographic form above the PET as either he or his mistress activated the projector.

"Unfortunately, Yaito-sama has a prior engagement on the tenth," Glyde explained punctiliously. "IPC's annual Shareholders' Ball is being held that evening, and Yaito-sama has been invited to attend as a representative of Gabcom."

"Really? Huh." Netto pondered that, feeling bizarrely disappointed. _I guess I know where Enzan will be, then._

_It's too bad. _Rockman sounded just as disappointed. Netto wrinkled his brow in puzzlement and would have poked him for more information, but Meiru-chan chose that moment to speak up.

"It's not the end of the world, right? We can have Netto's birthday another day."

"Hey," Netto protested indignantly. "Don't just decide these things!"

"She's right, Netto-kun," Rockman chipped in from the PET. "Think of it as having two birthdays!" There was a series of rapid digital beeps from PETs around the table as the Navis compared their Operators' schedules, then Roll popped up in the projector, looking so like Mariko-sensei from elementary school with one finger held up that Netto had to struggle not to laugh.

"Everyone's free on Sunday the 18th!"

"Awesome." Netto glanced around the table, seeing only nods of assent. "It's a date, then." He'd have to find Enzan sometime soon, Netto told himself, so that he could pester him into turning up.

* * *

"Netto-kun, where are we going?" It was a fair question, Rockman thought, even though he already had an inkling of the answer. He'd been expecting Netto to head straight home after class, but instead they seemed to be going in the opposite direction.

"To the labs, of course." Yawning, Netto skated lazily around a corner, making a wide arc to avoid a woman pushing a buggy. "Man, that History class was dull. Who cares what happened before the 'Net, anyway?"

"You should pay more attention," Rockman scolded absently, half of his attention on checking his logs of their work on the Sticky Chip files. "They say that 'those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it', you know, Netto-kun."

"I'm not ignoring it," Netto protested, ducking between two sets of railing to take a short cut through the park. "I just think it's dull. Material networks changed everything for good, right? Even the way we interact with the world. How is anything from before going to be relevant now?"

"Don't tempt fate," Rockman advised, half-amused but half-serious. "People are still people –"

"– Even if some of them are Navis," Netto chipped in cheerfully.

"– and still have all their flaws and weaknesses," Rockman concluded as they turned off into the industrial park. "Should I message Miyamoto-san to let her know we're coming?"

"Sure, I guess." Netto skated easily around a crack the pavement, slowing a little as he came closer to the labs. "Everyone'll be busy, though; I figured we'd just borrow the back room for an hour or so..."

"It's still polite, Netto-kun." Rockman sent off the message as Netto crossed the main roadway, hopping over the low hedge that bordered the lot rather than going around to the entrance. The landing made the PET bounce in its holster, which was never the most comfortable sensation, visual feeds and motion sensors going briefly haywire. Closing his eyes, Rockman waited for the world to settle again.

Skidding to a halt outside the main entrance as usual, Netto kicked out of his skates and fumbled in his backpack for his ID card. "Hey Rockman, do you think Papa's busy? We could go see if they have anything on the HQ attacks or the hacker yet."

"Do you think they're separate?" Rockman thought about it, comparing styles and methodologies and possible motivations and coming up with no real evidence either way. "I don't know, Netto-kun, I can't put my finger on it but I just have this feeling that there's a connection."

"Maybe so – like I said, Papa would know, right? If they were linked." Netto shuddered a little as he shouldered through the doors – subtle, but Rockman could pick up on it as his Operator resorted to the link to discuss what was probably classified information. _I don't want to think about a _person_ writing that virus that absorbed all its hosts, you know, Nii-__san?_

Rockman shuddered too, vividly recalling the look of the mutated thing. _I don't blame you – but not everyone is as nice as you are, Netto-kun._ It was a little reminiscent of the horror they'd all felt on discovering just how Nebula had been powering their Dimensional Generators, though at least this time there hadn't been ghosts. Rockman blushed a little, remembering how he'd embarrassed himself – in front of Blues, no less – with his terror.

"Huh." Netto wandered up to the empty reception desk, peering over it as though someone might materialise from beneath the console. "I guess everyone's busy – can you sign us in, Rock-nii?"

"Sure thing, Netto-kun." Rockman zipped briefly into the console, adding Netto's name the visitor log and his own ident to the network register. Briefly, he wondered whether he needed to remind Netto not to call him that in public – but after all, he reassured himself, this was hardly public when there was no one around to hear them.

"Thanks." Carrying the PET in front of him rather than replacing it in its holster, Netto grinned down at him as he left the desk. Perhaps this was why he didn't seem to notice the suddenly looming shadow until it was too late; Rockman blurted a warning just as Netto smacked head-on into someone's pristine white labcoat.

"Ow – sorry, sorry!" Netto backed away, wincing, as Ueda-san glared down at him over the top of his glasses, brushing invisible dirt from his coat.

"Hmph." The scientist swept away without a word, and Rockman sighed as Netto frowned after him.

"Netto-kun, look where you're going."

"I was!" Netto protested. "Well, mostly. He came out of nowhere – it was his fault, too." Shaking his head, he headed over to the door Ueda-san must have come from, that led to the Programming team's south-eastern annexe. Absently, Rockman wondered what he'd been doing; they'd seen him around a lot when they'd been apprentices here, too.

If Netto really did decide to come back to Sci-Labs for the summer, Rockman would be quite glad of it; it was interesting work, and the other Navis who were attached to the Programming teams were fun. The real bonus, of course, was that everyone at Sci-Labs was in the business of 'Net security; no one batted an eye when Rockman and Netto were summoned to chase down a rogue virus or glitched Navi. Blues had mentioned in the past that Enzan sometimes faced difficulties because of the time he had to take away from IPC for Net Saviour duties; Rockman supposed that the difference was that Sci-Labs was government run. IPC might be huge enough to have a lot of public contracts, but it was a wholly independent company.

"Hi, Umino-san!" Netto's cheerful greeting startled Rockman out of a rather wistful daydream in which Blues – and Blues' hair – had figured rather prominently. Blushing furiously and hoping that none of that had seeped through the link, Rockman re-activated the video feeds to see poor Umino-san jump almost out of her skin with surprise, gasping in dismay as the files and disks she was carrying slipped from her grasp.

"Ah! N-netto-san!"

"Oops." Netto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, holstering the PET as he knelt to help the girl pick up the folders and disks. "Sorry, sorry."

"No, it's my fault," Umino-san muttered, ducking her head, although even Rockman could see her furious blush. Collecting her things, she dashed away back to the main building in such a hurry that she almost tripped again. Rockman shook his head tolerantly at Netto's puzzled frown, when something caught his eye. It was a perfect summer afternoon outside, and the sunlight lanced through the wide windows of the covered walkway that led between the buildings, sparkling red and purple off something small where the wall met the floor.

"Netto-kun, look," he pointed out, using the IR transmitter as a laser pointer to indicate the fallen object, which turned out when Netto crouched to examine it to be a single jewel-cased mini-disk, of the type that could be stacked to increase storage capacity.

"Ah, she must not have seen it." Netto stared down at the disk, scratching his head, then shrugged. "We can give it back on the way out, right?"

"Right," Rockman agreed, nodding as Netto stowed the disk safely in a pocket and continued on to the double doors that marked the entrance to the Programming wing.

The first person they saw on entering the tiny lobby was Miyamoto-san herself, in dusty overalls rather than her usual pristine labcoat, and looking more than a little exasperated.

"Ah, Netto-kun, have you seen Umino-chan?"

"Yeah, she went racing back that way." Netto jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the doors. "Hi Miyamoto-san, what's up?"

"That girl..." Miyamoto-san sighed, shaking her head. "We're just moving some stuff around to make room for the new servers in B lab – did you come to use the chip converter?"

"Uh-huh," Netto confirmed.

"Is that okay?" Rockman broke in politely, tapping into the network to scan the room schedules. "If everyone's too busy, we can come back another time..."

"It's fine." Miyamoto-san smiled, pulling out her PET and making a note; Rockman pinged a polite greeting to the twin pair of standard Navis that she used. "Just watch yourselves – we've been moving everything around, so there are a lot of bits and pieces in C3 right now – junk mostly. By the way, how did you like the new battle stage setup Meijin commissioned? The non-static environment was a bit of a breakthrough."

"Really?" Rockman spoke up as Netto gaped in surprise. He'd thought the architecture felt familiar; no wonder. "I'm afraid it was damaged, though, in the attack..."

"I heard." Miyamoto-san shrugged philosophically. "We have backup copies, don't worry about it. Anyway, let me know if you need a hand with anything, okay?"

"Roger!" Netto beamed, waving as the scientist started off back the way that he and Rockman had come. "Come on Rock – let's try this out!"

"Go around the back way," Rockman advised as Netto headed for the C lab complex on the right. Smaller than security team's A section or the B labs that frequently worked with their father in network architecture development, the C division was dedicated to Net Navi systems and cyber-weapon research. Although they'd spent brief stints in all the departments, with the exception of the Specialist Projects in D labs, Netto and Rockman had naturally gravitated to C team.

"Huh? Why?" Netto asked, absently waving through an office window to someone he doubtlessly recognised.

"There's a personality matrix test going on," Rockman explained quietly, silently urging Netto on down the corridor past the red-lighted door. New Navi personality grids could be delicate things; any uncalculated-for data or stimulus could destabilise the developing neural network.

"Oooh." Netto nodded, taking a right at the end of the corridor to double around to the back of the lab block. The door to lab C3 was dark and locked; it beeped in confusion as Netto swiped his card and Rockman beamed their ident simultaneously. Rockman laughed sheepishly as the door finally slid open.

"Sorry, Netto-kun."

"For what?" Netto flipped the lights on and was immediately distracted. "Whoa – she was right about the junk!"

"Huh?" Rockman activated the external camera, curious, and got a visual feed full of PC towers piled on top of cabinets, the back half of the lab cluttered with various pieces of mismatched equipment. "Wow – I wonder when they last cleaned the labs out?"

"Who knows?" Netto had to squeeze between an empty server cabinet and a stack of big glass bottles to reach the console, the bottles wobbling alarmingly as whatever strange green liquid was inside them shifted. "Here, plug in and get this thing started, Rockman."

"Gotcha." Uploading himself into the mainframe, Rockman brought the terminal out of hibernation and booted up the simulator programs. "Ready when you are," he reported as Netto fished the disk containing their program out of his backpack.

"Okay." Netto slipped the disk into the console, bringing up the contents as a file list. They'd compiled the final version of the program last night, but unlike downloading chips that were won or discovered through the network, battle chip _creation_ required a computer capable of integrating the weapon data with a Navi's physical program while maintaining both as separate entities. Sci-Labs had one, and Blues – or rather Enzan – no doubt had one at IPC, but other than that there were few resources available to the average programmer.

"Which part do you want to do first?" Netto asked, fingers hovering over the keys. Rockman considered for a moment.

"Let's do the simulation," he decided, opening the utility and feeding the chip data into it. The computer hummed for a moment as it calculated and extrapolated, eventually coming up with a set of figures and statistics.

Rockman examined them critically. Attack power was negligible, but that wasn't what they'd designed it for. Speed and break limit were both good, and the computer confirmed what they'd guessed – that a double slot-in would be possible. And something else – Rockman smiled, scrolling through the data. "Netto-kun, it looks like the grav-panel data we used paid off – this will have environmental effects as well as subject-limited."

"Really?" Netto grinned at him. "Awesome – let's put it through the first stage."

"Sure." Rockman banished the calculating utility, opening the synchroniser. The still figure of a standard Navi appeared on the screen, lifeless and unresponsive. "Here goes." Careful to remain outside the boundaries of the conversion program – who knew what it would do to live Navi data? - Rockman fed the Sticky Chip data into the program slot.

For a moment, nothing happened as the program checked the as-yet unformatted data, finding that it was contiguous and complete. Then several sub-windows popped open, data scrolling rapidly, and a progress bar set itself up in the main screen, counting slowly up the percentages. The figure of the Navi lit up in blue and white and red as energy flows and data matches were calculated and recalculated. The activity and movement of the lights got steadily more frenetic until the bar hit fifty percent. At the that point, data started to coalesce around the right hand and arm of the Navi image.

"Ah!" Netto leaned closer to the screen in excitement, eyes shining. "It's working!"

"Of course it is, Netto-kun." Rockman returned his Operator's smile as the program reached ninety percent, the new data still too bright to properly see but visibly weapon-shaped. "Did you really doubt it?"

"No, but..." Netto shook his head, eyes fixed on the new chip as it finalised. "It's always different seeing it, you know?"

"Yeah." Rockman turned his attention back to the program just as the initial conversion stage finished, the light fading to show a black Shotgun-like weapon extending seamlessly from the Navi's arm, four silver prongs arching out from the barrel to meet in a ring just before the muzzle.

"Huh," Netto spoke up, sounding more thoughtful than anything. Rockman just examined the weapon, wondering what it would look like in action. He couldn't quite picture himself using it, but Blues... Rockman sighed, firmly banishing daydreams. Blues made everything look amazing.

"I guess we should test it out, huh?" Rockman turned back to the viewing window, smiling up at Netto. "Plug me in, Netto-kun."

"Sure, Rock-nii." Making the physical connection that allowed Rockman to enter the advanced simulation program, Netto set the PET down carefully on the console, adjusting his bandanna a little. "Take it slowly though, huh?"

"Whatever you say," Rockman reassured him, waiting patiently for the simulator to load. Slowly, pixel by pixel, the programmed environment began to creep up around him: standard neutral green panels and a few digital boxes. "It seems stable from here," he reported, scanning the area without detecting any anomalies.

"Same here," Netto agreed, popping open a viewing window. "I'm uploading the chip data, okay?"

"Okay." Rockman braced his arm, waiting in nervous anticipation. They'd done everything right, but what if there were variables they hadn't accounted for? It seemed to take much longer than usual for the data to become accessible to his systems, and the reformation of his hand and forearm into the black-and-silver gun seemed equally slow. A function, Rockman wondered, of the simulator? Or just the fact that the chip wasn't yet finalised?

Examining the new weapon carefully, Rockman could find no fault in either the construction or integration of its data with his control protocols. Shrugging, he took aim at a digital box that sat alone at the far side of the simulated area, and fired.

"Whoa!" Netto exclaimed as the shot, a blue-black ball of dense energy crackling with electricity, hit home. Rockman who had been more interested in examining the mouth of the weapon for damage – there had been almost no kickback, although it had _felt_ powerful – looked up just in time to see the box explode, pixels flying in all directions as the electro-gravitic effect pressed it beyond its capacity to endure. The panels surrounding the centre of the blast had turned black and were crackling with power.

"Quick, Netto-kun, try sending a data wave through that area!" They'd designed the effect to linger for a good minute, plenty long enough to parse and trace a signal, but Rockman wasn't going to take chances in the testing stages.

"Right, right." Netto was typing furiously, having to insert the signal into the fabric of the program itself, but after a long moment of waiting a panel started to glow bright white, the signal flashing across the grid towards the darkened area where it... was swallowed up. No, Rockman realised with a start; the data packet that Netto had sent was still there, glowing feebly and entrapped by the 'sticky' panels. Their idea, as off-the-wall as it had been, had worked.

"Well," Netto remarked after a moment. "I guess now we need to work out how to untrap the data."

"Can't they just lock down a firewall around it?" Rockman asked, thinking through possibilities. "That way you'd get the carrier signal – or better yet, freeze the whole network, and analyse everything."

"But then you'd be trapped too," Netto protested, blinking in startlement as the PET chimed, indicating an incoming message.

"It wouldn't be permanent," Rockman argued. "And it might be worth it, Netto-kun."

"Nothing is worth putting you in danger," Netto stated definitively, examining the PET for a moment before looking up with one eyebrow raised and a smirk on his face. "I think this is for you, Nii-san."

"Huh?" Rockman plugged out of the console, pixelating back inside the PET to find a databurst message waiting for him. Scanning it with a thought, Rockman blushed bright red first at the sender's tag and then at the content.

"Ah – it's Blues, he has a message." Rockman tried not to stumble over the name; Netto's grin was far too knowing for his liking. Why Blues, or Enzan really, couldn't have called or sent an email, Rockman wasn't sure, but he certainly wasn't about to complain. "Um, Netto-kun, I'm sure it can wait..."

"Go on." Netto smiled encouragingly, waving a dismissive hand at the console. "We're nearly done here, right? I'll finish up and meet you at home."

"If you're sure, Netto-kun?" Rockman was already triangulating the location code from Blues' message, though, a warm anticipation settling in his core. "Call me back if you have any trouble!"


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Infinite Gravity  
Part: 8/18  
Rating: T  
Characters/Pairings: Rockman & Blues, Netto & Enzan  
Notes: Set a good five years after canon. This is slightly AU in that I've played fast and loose with canon versions and background details - it's mostly based on the anime timeline, but there are some significant game and manga details in here too, as well as some made up stuff like new viruses and attacks. Please be warned that this fic contains shameless fanon cliches, because they are relevant to the plot.

**Infinite Gravity**

**8.**

Blues felt Rockman's arrival before he actually pixelated onto the grid, the energy signature of a powerful Navi announcing his presence better than a battle commentator. He chose not to turn, instead stepping up to the edge of the mesa he'd occupied, staring out at the flat plain of the Densan public wireless network as he waited for Rockman to join him. Even from this distance, Navis were visible going about their business, their well-travelled paths like highways leading from router to router. The most highly frequented patches of the grid almost seemed to glow, the concentrated presence of so many Navis altering the fabric of the network itself, a newly discovered phenomenon. Enzan-sama had a team investigating it, and Blues had no doubt that Sci-Labs did as well.

"Hi." Rockman stepped quietly up beside him, offering no further greeting bar a tiny smile when Blues glanced at him sideways. Curiosity faintly stirred, Blues kept his eyes on Rockman rather than the horizon, gaze hidden by his visor. It wasn't the first time – Rockman was generally an intriguing study, and although their aborted bout the previous week had shown Blues what the blue Navi could do with his upgrades, something about the physical fact of it still seemed to catch him unawares at odd moments.

Like now. Rockman glanced over at him, meeting Blues' eyes, although of course he couldn't know that, and something seemed to catch, the moment elongating before breaking with a shivering snap as Rockman turned back to the horizon, a faint flush on his cheeks. Blues, realising that he'd opened his mouth to say he knew not what, closed it with a snap and joined Rockman in silent contemplation of the distance, pushing confusion and disquiet aside as he was accustomed to do with unnecessary and irrational things. The sense of Rockman's presence, however, and the quiet feeling of companionship – even confused, blushing companionship – would not be set aside.

"You've not been around Net City," Blues said eventually, refusing to outright ask the question. Rockman's business was his own.

"Really?" Rockman tilted his head fractionally to look up at him, looking so quizzical that Blues smiled slightly despite himself. This appeared to satisfy Rockman; his answering smile was wide and bright. "I guess not – we've been working on a new chip. Netto-kun's at Sci-Labs now, finalising it."

"Oh?" Blues raised an eyebrow, intrigued. To his knowledge, battle chip creation was an involved process; certainly custom chips were costly. For Netto-san to bother – and Rockman to be so excited – they must have something good.

"It's gravity-based," Rockman explained enthusiastically, eyes alight and sparkling. Yet again, Blues wondered whether he even knew how easily his emotions were telegraphed to the world. "It stops data waves in their tracks – traps them. We developed it as a result of the hack attempt."

Trapping data signals? Blues had never heard of such a thing, but he had to admit it sounded theoretically possible. And if Rockman and Netto had done it... "When do I get my copy?" Another reason for Enzan-sama to poach the pair of them for IPC, though Blues understood his Operator's reluctance to open himself up to conflicts of interest.

"Once we've finished testing it out," Rockman promised earnestly, flushing pink again as Blues turned to face him directly. Curious, Blues thought, that Rockman hadn't yet questioned his summons – request, really. Yet he'd come, despite the work that he and Netto-san had been doing.

"Is Netto-san planning anything for his birthday?" Blues asked eventually, after the silence had worn thin.

"Hm?" Rockman tilted his head, frowning in puzzlement at this line of questioning. "Yes, of course, but it's not going to be until the 18th now, because it clashed with Enzan-kun's big party."

"Ah." Briefly, Blues wondered whether he ought to let on that Enzan-sama would most probably prefer to have the excuse of a separate party to avoid the IPC Ball. Undoubtedly Rockman's information had come from Ayanokouji Yaito, who was – Blues accessed his PET, checking – on the guest list. At least Enzan-sama would have one ally.

"We're taking over the Game Soul for the afternoon, I think," Rockman was explaining eagerly. "Dekao and Gutsman always want to challenge us every birthday, and, well," he rubbed his head, looking sheepish. "Netto-kun sort of dared everyone to try and take us down, so..."

Blues raised an eyebrow, smirking. "In that case, I think you owe me the rest of last week's match."

"Absolutely!" Rockman lit up like a star, eyes shining with delight, though that intriguing blush still marked his cheekbones. Blues carefully ignored the startling, unexpected impulse to reach out and see if that flushed skin was as warm as it looked, holding out the message he'd originally intended to deliver.

"An invitation," he clarified when Rockman looked puzzlement at him. "To Netto-san, from Enzan-sama." _Not_, thankfully, to the IPC Ball – Enzan wouldn't have subjected Netto to that, no matter how welcome a distraction it might have been for him personally – but to lunch somewhere quiet. With luck, there might even be time to finish their interrupted battle in private instead of making a spectacle for all of Netto and Rockman's friends.

Rockman took the message, glancing over it then looking up to smile at Blues. "I'm sure Netto-kun will accept," he declared earnestly, echoing Blues' own thoughts. "Maybe we could even finish our battle then."

"If you're that eager to lose." Blues waved a flippant hand, grinning to take the sting out of his words as he backed away, preparing to transfer back to his PET. "I'll see you then."

To his surprise, Rockman blushed bright red, but his smile was brilliant and his gaze unwavering and challenging as Blues logged out. It was the tone of his voice, though, that refused to be consigned to the archive of irrelevant emotions.

"Wait and see, Blues."

* * *

Rockman pixelated into the holo-display slowly, dragging his metaphorical feet as he transferred out of the network. Although the computer chimed to announce his arrival, it wasn't immediately obvious that anyone was in the lab. After a moment, though, there was a cough and Dr Hikari stood up from behind the console he'd been working on, blinking at Rockman.

"Rock-kun?" Pushing his chair back with a yawn, his father moved into the main section of the lab to stand before the holo-display. "Is something wrong? Where's Netto?"

"He's at home – nothing's wrong." Rockman fidgeted, unable to meet his father's eyes. "Papa," he blurted at last, staring down at his hands and certain he was blushing, "Can I – talk to you?"

"Of course you can." Dr Hikari dragged a chair over to the main console, collapsing into it with a relieved sigh. Judging by the scrapes on his knuckles and the dirt streaks on his labcoat, Rockman realised, he had to have been doing something pretty physical today. No wonder he seemed worn out.

"Papa, aren't you coming home tonight?" Rockman asked, concerned; his father scrubbed a hand through his hair.

"I suppose I should – but was that what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Ah, no." Rockman squirmed, all his carefully rehearsed questions falling to pieces. "Um, Papa, I wanted to ask... that is, is it p-possible for Navis to, um..." He trailed off, blushing bright red as his voice dried up.

"Ah." When Rockman dared to look up, his father was smiling at him, looking both wistful and strangely _proud_. "I wondered when this would come up." He paused. "Just to be clear here, Rock-kun, you want to know whether it's possible for Navis to have sexual relationships, or an equivalent, right?"

"Uh-huh." Certain that he must be beet-red, and that his father was about to ask what – or _who_ – had precipitated this, Rockman stared down at his hands.

"Well, in brief, the answer is yes." Dr Hikari raised one hand to gesture, as though he were lecturing a class or making a presentation. His smile, when Rockman dared a peek up at him, was kind and understanding. "Of course, it's only an equivalent, since Navis aren't _that_ closely modelled on humans. But the potential for, ah, _intimacy_ is something that's been built into the basic AI blueprint since my father's days – although it was really more of a fortuitous accident than a design principle." Dr Hikari shook his head, smiling wryly. "Anyway, you're not here for a history lesson. Basically, it was discovered early on that Navis were capable of _sharing_ data in ways that are interpreted as pleasure signals, under certain conditions."

"Conditions?" Rockman asked in a small voice, wondering whether it was possible to spontaneously combust from embarrassment. Why had he thought this was a good idea?

"That's the part that we still don't fully understand." Dr Hikari grinned as Rockman fidgeted. "Unsurprisingly, very few Navis are willing to share private information like this with us scientists. What we do know is that there needs to be some kind of – emotional gravity, I suppose is the best way to put it. A strong, mutual emotional bond of some kind. Plus a certain level of compatibility between the AIs. Other than that, I'm afraid, it's a bit of a mystery."

"O-oh." Rockman studied his hands thoughtfully, considering his own compatibility with Blues. They certainly worked well together, had been friends a long time – and the warm shiver of his core at the thought of being... _intimate_ with Blues was, Rockman supposed, evidence enough of strong emotion. Hastily, before the daydreams could kidnap him again, he blurted out, "You said – d-data sharing?"

"That's right." His father smiled at him, teasing. "Rock-kun, you're almost the same colour Netto turned when he had his turn at this."

"That doesn't help," Rockman muttered, although he had to admit that the thought of Netto sitting here turning bright red and bug-eyed was a little amusing.

"Maybe not." Dr Hikari nodded quietly, going back to Lecture Mode. "Anyway, because of the way that Navi senses are set up as _equivalencies_ – for example, you have a sense of smell, although it's actually used to detect bad data – because of the equivalency system, the data sharing I'm talking about is usually experienced through touch, in broadly the same way as it is with humans. What you're actually sharing, though, is emotional data – hence, we believe, those conditions I mentioned."

"Oh." Rockman thought about this for a moment, fitting it into his mental universe. It seemed to make sense. "Okay."

"I'm told," Dr Hikari's eyes, when Rockman looked up at him, were twinkling, "that is really is as simple as that. Of course, as with any emotional function, there are failsafes designed to prevent feedback loops. Once a certain threshold is reached, the system releases the aggregated data in a temporary overload. Hence," he laughed briefly, "why we say that the process is broadly similar to human intimacies."

"A-ah." Rockman hunched his shoulders, trying to banish the persistent wishful thought of Blues _touching_ him. Intimately. He inhaled on a gasp, turning it hastily into a choked cough and hoping his father hadn't noticed.

"Anyway." Dr Hikari eyed him curiously, and Rockman squirmed. "What brought this on, Rock-kun?" After a moment of Rockman gaping like a fish, once again bright red, he laughed. "More to the point, didn't you realise you could have looked this up in the Net City library database?"

"I could?" Rockman froze, then sighed in resignation, wondering where his mind had been.

"How do you think other Navis learn these things?" Dr Hikari's smile was kind, though, and he reached out, poking at the holo-display as if to tap Rockman's nose. "It's nice to be able to do fatherly things for you once in a while, though, Saito-kun." He paused while Rockman was still wide-eyed over the never-used human name, eyes twinkling. "Just make sure you get that visor off him before you try anything, hm?"

"Huh?" Rockman blinked, absorbing that... "Papa!"

* * *

"Where should we put these, Vice President?" Two men carrying stands and display cases halted by Enzan, waiting for his signal despite the fact that the foreman and chief butler had already given them their instructions earlier. Consulting his PET with a barely suppressed sigh, Enzan was relieved to see that Blues had already scrolled to the appropriate place in the schedule.

"In the far corner of the foyer, to the left of the stairs," Enzan ordered shortly, already turning away to 'supervise' the group who were setting up the multi-panel screen on the right wall. "Make sure to bolt them down down securely." The last thing anyone needed was for priceless IPC prototypes to get damaged because some socialite's balance was impaired by champagne.

"Thanks, Blues," he murmured under his breath, receiving an equally quiet "Don't mention it, Enzan-sama," in return as he examined the placement of the screen. Almost the size of some of the advertising displays in Densan City Centre, it took up a whole wall, and had displaced any number of Ijuin family portraits, which had been stacked for the moment against the marble wall of the formal staircase. Doubtless, Enzan thought grimly, his father had instructed that they be rehung in the ballroom for the occasion, which meant that the would be subjected all evening to comments on how he'd grown in the four years since he'd sat for his own portrait.

"This is a waste of time," he murmured, more to himself than Blues, referring to the whole effort rather than the protracted business of setting up. He'd only agreed to oversee the proceedings because one of the new prototype X-Gen PETs was going to be put on display, and they were valuable enough that he didn't want to leave this to employees. Only three had been completed so far, vastly superior to the A-type that would go on sale this summer, and Enzan had used every ounce of Vice-Presidential privilege he possessed to appropriate two of them. One had been customised for his personal use – he'd transferred Blues' files the previous night. The other was currently waiting back at his apartment, carefully packed into its case and wrapped in the least tasteless birthday paper he'd been able to find. The thought of what his father would say if he learned what Enzan was planning to do with billions of yen worth of IPC pre-release prototype was entirely outclassed by the thought of Netto's face on opening it.

"Enzan-sama," Blues prompted him quietly; Enzan blinked, belatedly realising that the foreman was hovering nervously in front of him, waiting for his attention.

"Yes?"

"Vice President, the display is ready for the model," the workman advised him earnestly, gesturing to the case that had been set up in the middle of the foyer. As far as all the workmen were aware, the PET that would take pride of place amidst the screens showing off its features and operation was only a model. Enzan had supervised the security arrangements himself; even the press were unaware that anything other than the hotly anticipated A-types would be debuted tonight.

"Right." Picking up the case, Enzan carried it carefully over to the display plinth, where the foreman presented him with the keys to the cabinet. "Blues?" Enzan requested, hand hovering over the top of the case. There was a solid click as Blues sent the security authorisation code to the lock, and Enzan opened the case, lifting out the precious PET – finished in neutral brushed silver tones – and setting it on the stand that had been prepared for it, faintly illuminated by diffuse spotlights. Examining the setup critically, Enzan nodded finally, closing and locking the display case before pocketing the key.

"There." Pulling out his own PET – finished in his customary red and carrying his crest, but otherwise identical to the one on display – Enzan checked the clock, exchanging glances with Blues. Time to get out of here. "I have a lunch appointment," he informed the foreman, slipping the PET back into its holster. "Amano-san," the butler, who was currently directing the removal of the stack of paintings, "knows what needs doing."

"Yes, Vice President." The foreman bowed politely as Enzan turned away.

"Shall I order your car, Enzan-sama?" Blues queried softly as he made for the main doors that led out to the sweeping gravel driveway. Enzan considered this for a moment, then shook his head decisively.

"No, I'll take the subway." Neither his apartment nor the coffee bar he'd chosen were far, and his father's chauffeurs would insist on waiting around for him. This afternoon was private business.

* * *

"Seventeen doesn't feel any different than sixteen," Netto complained as he dodged around a pair of little old ladies and out of the subway station. In deference to the occasion, and Rockman's nagging, he'd given up his skates and was wearing one of the new shirts Mama had bought him, but the trademark blue headband remained defiantly in place.

"You say that every year, Netto-kun," Rockman pointed out, but without any heat. It had been a pretty good birthday so far, even by his limited standards. Papa had upgraded Netto's PC for them, and among the new programs that they were still exploring was a private, customised homepage for Rockman. Mama had promised Netto cake later before ordering them into Full Synchro so that she could hug them both. Netto had been thrilled with the rare Water chip set that Rockman had found for him in Net City's shopping district, and had somehow found the time over the past few weeks to secretly code and test a new program that would allow Rockman to switch elemental armours instantly mid-battle. And to top it all off, he was about to see Blues. It was, Rockman decided happily, a very good day indeed.

"It _should_ be different," Netto argued cheerfully as he bounded up the steps to the second level of the open air mall. Even the weather had cooperated, Rockman thought; it was a beautifully sunny day, only a few pale clouds drifting through the blue sky, and the weather report promised more of the same for the rest of the weekend.

"Which way now?" Netto asked, halting at the intersection of two streets. Obligingly, Rockman checked the map, frowning a little when the PET hitched again, data freezing infinitesimally as it was transferred between nodes. They definitely needed an upgrade soon.

"Left, over the bridge and along to the end of the balcony," he instructed, initiating another diagnostic scan in the hope of finding something he could patch. The place that Enzan had chosen was an out-of-the-way Italian style coffee bar that would probably be considered exclusive if more people knew about it. As it was, it was cool and shady, patio tables screened by potted palms and bamboo, and quiet enough to hold a conversation even on a June Saturday.

"Huh, nice." Netto looked around appreciatively, staking out a table to wait for Enzan and examining a menu curiously. "Not bad, right Rockman?"

"Mm." Rockman, engaged in trying to banish the tiny but stubbornly repetitive glitch, didn't look up even when Netto called a cheerful greeting at Enzan's approach. If he could just smooth out the irritating wrinkle in the connection sub-systems, everything should go back to operating at one hundred percent, but it was proving surprisingly difficult. Frustrated, he engaged his secondary analytical protocols, freezing the system for a moment so that he could examine the problem. To his shock, what he found was neither glitch nor error loop but the tail end of a program so cleverly buried in the PET's systems that even repeated malware and virus scans had failed to detect it. And as if by magic, the very act of observing the program seemed to activate it in a rush of pixels.

Rockman didn't even have time to scream.

* * *

"Hi!" Netto beamed as Enzan walked up to the table, shifting his own chair over to make room. "How's the party stuff going?" He wasn't quite certain why Enzan had insisted on hanging out with him today, when he had to be really busy with work things, but he wasn't going to question free pizza. The thought had crossed his mind, when Rockman had first passed on the invitation, that this could be construed as a da – ah, he couldn't even think the word! If it had been Meiru-chan, he might have been worried, but they'd dealt with that stuff and agreed that they were better as friends. Determined not to blush, no matter how stupid his thoughts, Netto grinned across the table at Enzan.

"As planned." Enzan smiled quietly back. "Happy birthday. What are you drinking?"

"Uh." Netto blanked for a moment, then went for the safe option. "Juice, I guess. Thanks."

"It's no problem." Enzan nodded calmly, flagging down a waiter like he did it every day – he probably did, Netto realised belatedly – and ordering in a quiet voice before turning back to Netto. "Blues tells me you're planning to take on all comers, next week."

"Huh?" Netto rolled his eyes as the waiter re-materialised with a tray containing juice for him and the kind of strong, undoubtedly expensive coffee that came in tiny cups for Enzan. "Caffeine addict," he accused jokingly. "I never said that, I said I'd take on all my friends at once. Why, want a rematch?"

Enzan's grin matched his own. "If you're up for it."

"Always." Netto might have said more, but a quiet and entirely unexpected voice spoke up from his PET.

"Excuse me, Netto-san."

"Huh?" Blinking at Enzan, who looked just as surprised, Netto pulled out the PET, activating the screen. Blues looked out at him, something in his lack of expression setting off a terrible sinking feeling in Netto's stomach.

"Where is Rockman?" Blues asked, voice tight and wary, and the sinking feeling got a whole lot worse.

"He was just right there..." Netto stared at the screen in puzzlement, unable to deny that it was empty of Rockman. Worriedly, he poked at the link, prompting his twin to respond.

_Rockman? Rock-nii, where have you got to?_ Only empty silence answered him. _Nii-san, answer me!_ But there was nothing. With a chill like cold water trickling down his spine, Netto realised that he could feel nothing at all from the link. It was as blank and dead as if Rockman had never been.


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Infinite Gravity  
Part: 9/18  
Rating: T  
Characters/Pairings: Rockman & Blues, Netto & Enzan  
Notes: Set a good five years after canon. This is slightly AU in that I've played fast and loose with canon versions and background details - it's mostly based on the anime timeline, but there are some significant game and manga details in here too, as well as some made up stuff like new viruses and attacks. Please be warned that this fic contains shameless fanon cliches, because they are relevant to the plot.

**Infinite Gravity**

**9.**

"He's gone." If Netto's stunned voice was enough to make Enzan's heart clench, his face was a thousand times worse. His eyes were empty, disbelieving, almost blank but for a dull sheen of horror. "I can't feel him any more."

"What?" Enzan shook his head, snatching the PET out of Netto's unresisting hand. "That can't – Blues!" It was a plea as much as an order.

"Scanning," Blues reported shortly, as multiple screens of scrolling data appeared around him, moving faster than Enzan could follow. There was something grim and strangely pained in his voice; Enzan frowned, but dismissed it as irrelevant as the data froze and Blues looked up.

"There is no trace of Rockman's program remaining within this terminal."

"What?" Enzan said again, before his eyes were drawn to Netto, who was clutching at his chest, beginning to hyperventilate. Enzan's heart went out to him, but he was aware that there was no time for sympathy. "Hikari, get a hold of yourself," he snapped, watching Netto narrowly; he was well aware of how Hikari Saito had died, and the way Netto had his hands to his chest did nothing for Enzan's nerves. "Blues, that's impossible."

"Yes, Enzan-sama." Shoulders tense, Blues pulled up another screen and began scrolling through it. "There is no sign that the system was reformatted, either, but all of the connection logs have been deleted."

"Connection!" Netto seized frantically on this, jumping up to snatch the PET back from Enzan. "Blues, check the local networks!"

"Acknowledged," Blues answered in chipped tones, flicking out of the screen for a long moment. Enzan took the opportunity to pull out his own PET, fingers flicking across the virtual keyboard as he routed a priority conference call through to the Commissioner at HQ and Dr Hikari at Sci-Labs. Netto didn't even spare a glance for the new prototype, all his attention on the blank empty screen of his own PET as he waited.

"He was getting glitches lately," Netto finally said in a small, cracked voice. "Really minor ones, with the PET's systems. He said it was nothing serious, just worn out hardware."

Enzan grimaced, inputting his Net Saviours _and_ IPC idents in an effort to speed up the process of securing the connection. He paused as Blues flashed back into the screen of Netto's PET, mouth set in a grim line.

"There are no traces of Rockman's data, however the transfer logs of the local public wireless router have also been deleted," he reported just as Enzan succeeded in getting the three-way connection open. With that last piece of news, certainty crystallised.

"Dr Hikari, Commissioner," he greeted the puzzled-looking men shortly, knowing that this would be the last news either of them expected. "Rockman has been stolen."

"What?!" Three voices – the Commissioner shocked and disbelieving, and Enzan saw Dr Hikari turn pale, but his attention was on Netto, who had stood abruptly, and looked worryingly close to passing out. Rising, Enzan caught at his arm, locking eyes with him.

"Netto." What he could speak out loud, he tried to say with his eyes. "We'll get him back."

"Enzan-kun!" Dr Hikari spoke right over the Commissioner without pause for apology. "Just what is going on?"

"Rock's disappeared." Netto spoke up unexpectedly, voice raw and cracked. He moved to Enzan's side, facing the screen, and Enzan saw Dr Hikari's eyes widen at the sight of him.

"All of Rockman's files have been removed from the PET," Enzan confirmed shortly, balling his hands into fists to keep from reaching out to Netto. "The transfer logs from the PET and the nearest wireless access point have been deleted. Commissioner, you need to get someone to take the local router offline without wiping it so that we can attempt data recovery. We'll bring the PET in right now."

"As you say." The Commissioner straightened, a steely glint entering his eyes as he gestured to someone off-screen. "I'm declaring this a Category One emergency priority. All available resources will be assigned to locating and retrieving Rockman. Get the PET to Sci-Labs immediately for analysis, Enzan-kun, Netto-kun. I'll meet you there." And he closed the connection, allowing Dr Hikari to take over the full screen.

"Netto, can you hold it together long enough to get here?" the scientist asked, raking a hand through his hair. "I'll get everything ready –"

"Enzan-sama," Blues chipped in quietly from the corner of the screen, having returned to his own PET presumably to avoid contaminating the evidence. "Your driver will meet you in the parking lot."

"Thanks, Blues-kun," Dr Hikari addressed the Navi directly before turning back to his son. "I'll see you in a minute, okay, Netto-kun? Don't worry, we'll find Rockman."

"Yeah." Netto nodded firmly as his father waved goodbye, terminating the connection, but his voice was shaky. Enzan spared him a sharp glance as he picked up the gift bag he didn't dare hand over now. If Netto actually broke down in public, he had no idea what he would do, aside from thoroughly embarrass himself.

"Blues, pay the bill," he ordered shortly, taking Netto by the sleeve and leading him towards the exit that led to the parking lot. "Then clear my schedule and start checking out possible transfer vectors. I'll call you back when we reach Sci-Labs."

"Yes, Enzan-sama." Blues vanished from the PET screen in a streak of red light, and Enzan clipped it back to his belt, signalling to his driver with a raised hand as they entered the car park. Netto had tight hold of his own empty PET, face grim and jaw set.

"Sci-Labs," Enzan ordered the minute he'd steered Netto into the back of the limo. "As fast as you can manage." At least, he reflected with grim humour, he now had a convenient – and entirely legitimate – excuse to avoid the ball.

* * *

By the time that Enzan recalled him, some twenty minutes later, Blues had investigated and dismissed forty-three of the most likely nodes, jumping from router to router checking logs.

"Nothing," he reported tersely once he'd pixelated back into his new PET. Anticipating Enzan's next request, he brought up a network schematic, mapping the points through which they could definitely say that Rockman had _not_ been transferred. It made a depressing picture, the few red dots surrounded by a glowing forest of green ones, connections branching off repeatedly in random yet almost fractal patterns. That was only the publicly accessible network; add in private connections and the possibilities became almost endless.

Blues said none of this, knowing that Enzan would draw the same conclusion.

"Thank you, Enzan murmured, flicking on the PET's main screen and sending the data to Dr Hikari's console, where he and Meijin were hooking up Netto's PET to be analysed. Netto himself was slumped in a chair, either comforted or restrained by Manabe-san's hand on his shoulder. After a single glance, Blues ignored the scene, focusing on his Operator. Enzan was standing beside the Commissioner, watching the progress of the scientists with his face set and grim. Blues watched the way his eyes kept flicking to Netto, and bowed his head, unable _not_ to think of Rockman, and the little smile he often wore when they watched their Net-Ops watch one another.

"All available Net Saviours have been called in," the Commissioner was explaining in low tones. "Unfortunately, Laika-san is currently on military operations in Sharo, and can't be contacted right now."

Enzan's lips thinned, and Blues straightened, anticipating orders before Enzan even met his gaze. "Blues, use Searchman's private emergency code. Pass on what information we have, and make a priority request for assistance."

"Yes, Enzan-sama." Calculating rapidly, Blues considered options and chose the most likely. Jumping into the Sci-Labs network, he hijacked the communications centre, much to the consternation of the Navis who had been routing and handling calls. Securing a priority international line, Blues took a moment to compress and encrypt the data packet before forwarding it at top speed to Searchman's personal address under an urgent Net Saviours header.

"What do you think you're doing?" one officious and indignant communications Navi demanded crossly as he relinquished control of the network and turned to leave. Blues spared her a brief glance, judging her unworthy of time that could be better spent hunting for Rockman.

"Net Saviours," was all he said, logging out and back into his PET in a rush of displaced pixels. "Message sent," he reported tersely when Enzan glanced at him; it would take some time for Searchman to retrieve it, and longer for Laika to respond, depending on what type of military operation he was actually undertaking. Enzan nodded before returning his attention to the scientists; Blues followed his gaze, finding that Netto had stepped up to the console and was conferring in low tones with his father as they watched Meijin work on the PET.

"Preliminary scans indicate that all systems are at one hundred percent," Meijin announced after a moment. "However, all traces of Rockman's files are gone. It's as if a Navi was simply never installed. Netto-kun, what was the timeframe of the attack?"

"I don't know – seconds?" Netto guessed, looking to Enzan for confirmation. "We were talking, and then I stood up to say hi to Enzan, and when Blues transferred in he found Rock gone, right?"

"Right," Enzan confirmed; Dr Hikari looked aghast.

"What could contain and transfer out an entire Navi AI and all its associated files in that short a time?"

"That's the question." Meijin switched screens, goggles flashing as he looked up. "There are no traces of any foreign programs in the system."

"Don't rule it out," Blues spoke up, cutting into the humans' conversation without apology. "If Rockman had noticed a serious problem, this would not have happened." He felt comfortable stating that as a fact; Rockman was, after all, one of the most capable Navis he knew.

"He complained that he was getting minor glitches lately," Netto volunteered again, guilt written on his face. "Hiccups, he said – skips and jumps, you know?" He looked down at his hands, clenched in his lap. "He couldn't find a cause, apart from the PET starting to wear out, so we were gonna save up for a new one..."

"Skips and jumps –" Meijin turned back to his screens, scrolling through data logs and diagnostics before shaking his head. "There's nothing wrong with this PET, Netto-kun."

"Well, that's one lead." The Commissioner sighed. "So, do we assume an unknown and undetected infection?"

"I think we have to," Dr Hikari agreed. "There's really no question that this was deliberate – though what anyone would want with Rockman, I don't want to think about. I almost hope we receive a ransom note..." He shook his head, before looking up at Enzan. "Blues-kun, you can plug into the secondary monitor if you want. Can you give us a description of exactly what you found when you first entered the PET?"

"As you wish." Skimming over the IR connection, Blues logged into the console and pixelated inside its cyberscape, banishing the screensaver and opening a viewing window. Pausing for a moment to run rapidly through his memory logs, he began his report.

"Upon arrival at the meeting place, I pinged a standard greeting to Rockman. I became concerned when no response was returned, and logged into his PET. I found him gone and all programs inactive, although –" he frowned, remembering. "There may have been a scent – a trace of disturbed data that hadn't quite settled. It was gone so quickly that I can't be one hundred percent certain, but it seemed somehow familiar, without actually being recognisable."

"Rockman's data?" Enzan questioned, moving closer to the screen to stand beside Netto's chair. Blues shook his head.

"Definitely not." Rockman was power, brightness, sunlight warmth. "Not darkness, either." He had enough experience of that, after all. "More like pure data than anything." Blues frowned. "Not unlike that hack signal, but that's not the source of the familiarity."

"I think that's enough evidence that we can tentatively consider the incidents linked," the Commissioner declared heavily, as two policemen in the white and green badges of the cyber service entered, one bearing a wire-trailing piece of hardware that, Blues realised, must be the router from the shopping district. "Excellent," the Commissioner approved. "Manabe-kun, please assist Meijin in comparing this to the PET. As I was saying," he continued as Dr Hikari also hurried over to begin plugging in cables and setting up diagnostic readers, "this makes three major incidents – or four, really, that are all directly connected to the Net Saviours. Enzan-kun, Blues, you should make sure to take extra precautions, and take a full scan once Meijin and the Professor have finished here."

"That won't be necessary," Enzan said quietly, holding up Blues' PET in illustration. "This is a new prototype, and I ran a complete scan yesterday before I ported Blues in. The security protocols are top-level, unreleased."

"Huh." For the first time, Blues noticed, Netto showed a flicker of interest in something other than the diagnostics his father was running. "That's not one of the A-types."

"It's the next model," Enzan explained quietly, holding out the PET for Netto to examine. "X-Gen – the project will be officially unveiled tonight. Right now the labs are trying to find a way to bring the cost down enough for mass production; they won't go on sale until next year at the earliest." He had, Blues noticed, left the gift bag containing Netto's matching prototype in the limo. It was probably just as well, he considered; it would make a hollow gift now. For that matter, his own gift to Rockman would have to wait; the desire to make Rockman smile had been replaced with the simpler and more urgent need to see him safe.

Pushing the discomfiting concern aside as best he could, Blues concentrated on the main screen and the parallel testing that the Professor and Meijin were carrying out. He'd always considered that, in an existence dedicated to Enzan-sama and IPC, it was neither necessary nor strictly proper to have any reliance on others, but Rockman had an uncanny ability to change him in ways Blues had never expected. Even in his absence, his effect could be felt.

The chirp of an incoming transmission drew Blues' attention away; linking back to his PET with a thought, he checked the originating ID, routing the call through to the terminal he occupied. Searchman's image appeared in the main window, static rapidly clearing as the PET's advanced systems worked to average and normalise the signal.

"Enzan-san, Netto-san." Searchman's eyes moved across the gathering, and he spared a brief nod for Blues. "Commissioner. Laika-sama has instructed me to inform you that he is suspending his current mission and will arrive in Densan in approximately fifty-two hours in order to assist in your investigation."

"Understood." The Commissioner nodded politely. "We're very grateful to the two of you – and please give my apologies to your commanding officers."

"Acknowledged." Searchman flicked another glance at Blues before cutting the connection, which left Blues puzzled and feeling slightly twitchy. More than anything, he felt, he wanted to take out his rising anger on someone – and if Rockman's abductor couldn't be found, a virus would do. Swallowing rage and reining in his flaring battle aura, Blues shrugged off the sharp look Enzan-sama was giving him, concentrating instead on the quiet conversation between the scientists.

"...same problem with both," Dr Hikari was saying as he pointed out something on Meijin's screen. "We can't find what isn't there."

"What about backups?" Manabe-san asked unexpectedly from where she was leaning over Meijin's shoulder. "Not the router, obviously, but you must have backups from your PET, Netto-kun?"

"Yeah!" Netto sat bolt upright, face momentarily transformed by hope, before collapsing back a defeated expression. "On my PC. Papa, your upgrades..."

"Don't despair, Netto-kun." Dr Hikari pushed back his chair, crossing to a cabinet and rifling though a drawer full of data disks. "I took a hard drive image before I made any system changes. Let's see – this one, I think." He produced an unlabelled disk that, as far as Blues could see, was indistinguishable from the others. "Now, if I create a temporary partition in the mainframe, we should be able to set it up exactly as it was."

Netto brightened, and scooted his chair across the lab to watch his father work. Blues watched Enzan, reading the emotions that crossed blue eyes fixed on Netto as a distraction from his own tangled and disturbed feelings. To Blues, who knew him best, the depth of his Operator's feelings for the other boy, although not entirely comprehensible, was all too obvious.

"There." Dr Hikari provided a welcome distraction, sitting back as the progress bar on his screen reached one hundred percent and the install was finalised. "Netto-kun, where do you keep your backup files?"

"Here." Netto pointed out a directory as the Commissioner and Meijin crowded around to look at the screen. "They're labelled by date." Enzan deftly inserted himself behind Netto's chair to watch, so Blues logged out of the computer, returning to his PET and patching into the main terminal as Dr Hikari downloaded the compressed backup archive into an analytical utility. Another progress bar appeared as the extraction process began.

Blues watched quietly, privately wishing that he could go through the files himself. He could see traces of Rockman in the neat, precise arrangement and labelling of the files. He narrowed his eyes as the progress bar reached ninety percent, wondering whether he had imagined the subtle shift of the data.

"Enzan-sama," he began, intending to request the freezing of the system so he could check it out personally, but he was moments too late. The process reached one hundred percent, and the system erupted in a massive upheaval of data, warning boxes layering themselves across the screen.

"What the – it's deleting itself!" Dr Hikari shunted Netto ungracefully aside, stabbing frantically at the keyboard in an attempt to prevent the damage.

"Blues!" Enzan ordered sharply. "Stop it!"

"On it!" Tightening his security protocols in anticipation, Blues transferred into the mainframe with an almost tangible sense of relief to finally be doing something.

Almost immediately, he was forced to fend off a two-pronged attack from an unfamiliar and all but invisible program; only the glitter of light along vicious serrated edges warned him in time. A spray of dissipating pixels was thrown up by his sword as he blocked, and Blues realised that the program – it had that same faintly familiar, dry-data scent that he'd caught in Rockman's PET – was perilously close to disintegrating as it continued to systematically delete itself.

Summoning a screen with his left hand even as he continued to parry frenzied strokes, Blues summarily overrode the existing user control protocols, taking full control of the system, and initiating a full-scale data freeze. Due to his own presence, however, he was forced to go slowly to avoid being caught in his own trap, and it seemed the thing could define his intentions. Self-aware, Blues realised with a chill, although it appeared to be devoid of any personality functions or independent thought.

"Enzan-sama!" he called urgently, unable to spare the attention to look to his Operator as another knife-like edge sliced past his head. Dismissing his sword, Blues steeled himself and _grabbed_ for the program, hanging on grimly as sharp edges tugged and slipped through his hands. If he could just get enough contact with it before it was fully deleted, his logs would be able to give them at least some idea of its programming.

"Blues!" Netto's voice from the PET was a distant sort of surprise; Blues did look up, catching a glimpse of Enzan's startled face as he was pushed aside. "Use this! Battle chip, slot in!"

Taken aback by the unexpected assistance, Blues absorbed the upload, accepting and automatically analysing the unfamiliar weapon data. With a shock, he realised what it had to be – Rockman's touch in the intricate elemental meld was unmistakeable – and that gave him all the hint he needed.

Disengaging with a wordless cry, Blues allowed the weapon to form, sighting on the rapidly collapsing, barely visible program – and fired.

The charged shot hit with a black crackle of energy, and Blues exhaled in relief as the program was caught in a rapidly spreading puddle of force, slowing as even the shed pixels of dissolution began to sink back towards the grid. Completing the full system freeze that he'd begun, Blues exited the mainframe, flashing back into his PET. Netto's victorious grin as he removed the chip was matched by Enzan's approving one.

"Take all the scans you can," Blues advised quietly, turning to see Dr Hikari and Meijin already working over the system with a portable scanner. Thoughtfully, he examined his own logs, quarantining the sampled data before comparing it to his records of all the recent incidents. Almost immediately, he noticed certain similarities in the coding.

"Enzan-sama, the intruder is a positive match for the viral coding from the hack attempt."

"Confirmed," Meijin agreed shortly, looking up. Blues shared a speaking glance with his Operator. It was the best clue they were likely to get, and put them that much closer to being reunited with Rockman. Despite himself, Blues felt a tendril of hope wrap around his core. They were on the trail.

* * *

Awareness returned in a rush. Diving straight into battle mode, Rockman pixelated into solid form with his buster already out, staring frantically around for enemies. The first thing that he noticed was the energised bars of the cage that trapped him; the second was that something felt very wrong – more wrong than even being trapped in a cage in an unfamiliar place could account for. It was all eclipsed, however, by the horrifying realisation that his link with Netto was gone.

_Netto-kun! Netto!_ Rockman all but shrieked, projecting as forcefully as he could. Only silence answered him, and fear dug its claws in that much further. _Netto!_ Desperate, Rockman tried to widen the channel, reaching out for his absent twin as if to initiate Full Synchro. To his shock, he ran smack into an invisible barrier – smooth, seamless, and utterly solid. Bruised and shaking, Rockman retreated back into himself, staring around his prison as he tried to make sense of the situation.

Netto must be frantic – not to mention Enzan and Blues. Rockman bit his lip; if the thought of his Operator put an ache in his core, the thought of Blues doubled it. Resolutely – or as much as he could manage, anyway – he turned his mind to other things as he paced out the limits of the cage, trying to puzzle out the strange feeling of wrongness. It was vaguely reminiscent of the 'settling in' feeling that he always had for the first few days in a new PET, until he became accustomed to the new hardware and customised the setup to his liking. Which, Rockman realised with a chill, led to one obvious and unpleasant conclusion.

Whoever had brought him here – he had nothing but impressions of a powerfull, well-hidden program that had dragged him down into the darkness – had brought him _whole_. AI core, database, and source code; he wasn't just trapped and unable to log out, he'd been _kidnapped._ Thoughts whirling perilously close to panic, Rockman forced himself calm, counting the bars of the cell. Sixteen to each side, a perfect inescapable square. Even the grid beneath his feet had been sealed, the panels coated with a transparent layer like toughened glass. Instead of the usual cyberspace 'sky' above there was a solid roof like a firewall, embedded programs glittering warningly as they watched over him.

That was the other unnerving thing, Rockman realised with a shiver. The undeniable sensation that something was _watching_ him. Abandoning his buster, he wrapped his arms around himself, pacing forward to toe warily at the bars. A warning crackle of energy shot up his leg, making him gasp in momentary agony.

"You won't get out that way," a voice opined flatly from behind him. Flinching violently in shock, Rockman whirled, pulling out his buster and training it on the Navi who had spoken.

"Or like that." The Navi – it looked like one of the wooden dolls from Netto's art classes, Rockman realised in horror, matte white and marionette-limbed, with a smooth, blank, featureless oval 'face'. Its voice was as toneless as a standard Navi. "Try it, if you like."

Glaring, Rockman narrowed his eyes, bracing himself and inhaling before letting off the most powerful charged shot he could manage. Although he dug his heels in, the force of it sent him skidding backwards on the smooth footing, and he only barely avoided hitting the back wall of bars. That turned out to be a good thing, because the entire cell rang like a bell as his shot impacted the bars, its energy crackling and spreading around the entire energy barrier.

"See?" the faceless Navi said in its emotionless voice. "You can keep trying, if you like. You'll just make it stronger, and if it overloads it will fry you. There's nothing you can do."

Rockman set his jaw, glaring as the thing walked around the outside of the cell. The way it turned its blank head to watch him was thoroughly unnerving, but he'd be deleted before he'd let it know it was spooking him.

"What do you want from me?" he demanded, releasing his buster to set his hands on his hips confrontationally.

"Relax." The Navi paused, rotating to face him. "You won't be harmed. We just need a look at your data."

"What?" Rockman took a step back, suddenly nervous.

"You're a rare specimen," the Navi told him dispassionately, gesturing with one fingerless hand. Several of the programs in the roof lit up, and an unpleasant low-level hum began from somewhere. "A Navi created from a human – fascinating."

Although it sounded anything but fascinated, a spasm of dread froze Rockman in place anyway. It _knew _– how could it know?!

"Stand still," the Navi advised impassively as the light brightened and the humming reached fever pitch. "You'll feel it less, that way."


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Infinite Gravity  
Part: 10/18  
Rating: T  
Characters/Pairings: Rockman & Blues, Netto & Enzan  
Notes: Set a good five years after canon. This is slightly AU in that I've played fast and loose with canon versions and background details - it's mostly based on the anime timeline, but there are some significant game and manga details in here too, as well as some made up stuff like new viruses and attacks. Please be warned that this fic contains shameless fanon cliches, because they are relevant to the plot.

**Infinite Gravity**

**10.**

This must, Netto had concluded grimly sometime during that first shell-shocked day, have been how Enzan felt. Except not, because while Enzan had borne the burden of guilt for what had happened to Blues, at least he'd _known._ Not knowing, not being able to feel Rockman even as a tenuous thread of connection – that was the worst.

Staring at the ceiling of his room, Netto listened to the ticking of the clock and wondered what was happening at Sci-Labs. He'd been sent home – dragged home, really, by Enzan and Manabe-san – sometime after dawn on Sunday, when caffeine and nervous energy had finally given out.

It was Monday now. Netto considered the fact that he would undoubtedly be missed at school, and couldn't find it in himself to care. No one had even mentioned classes, but Enzan had promised to take him to the airport later, to meet Laika.

A door slammed downstairs, undoubtedly his mother returning from shopping. Sighing, Netto rolled off his bed before she could come and chase him up, wandering out to the balcony. The sky was unpleasantly grey, threatening rain, and thunder growled somewhere in the distance. Gritting his teeth against the hot prickle of unshed tears that he refused to give in to, Netto swallowed fear and helplessness, clenching his fists until his short nails dug into his palms. Abruptly, as the first fat drops of rain began to fall, splatting on the brickwork, he swore, whirling and taking out all of his rage and frustration in a knuckle-splitting punch to the wall of the house.

"...ow." Weirdly, it was the thought of what Rockman would say that finally unravelled the knot of stewed emotions. Cracking a tired grin at his own stupidity, Netto leaned against the house, letting the rain trickling down the wall wash away the thin scarlet stain of his blood. _I'm sorry, Nii-san. I should have known something was wrong._

Examining his bruised and bleeding hand, Netto winced. Mama was going to get him good for that one, to say nothing of Papa and Enzan. Licking blood off his fingers, he tugged his bandanna off, knotting it clumsily around the damaged hand. The rain was coming down thick and fast now, plastering his hair to his face. Scraping it out of his eyes, Netto ducked back into his room, contemplating heading over to Sci-Labs despite the weather. Enzan could find him there as easily as here.

Papa had been right, though – there wasn't much he could do at the labs right now except get in the way. A Net-Op without a Navi was no use to anyone. Smiling mirthlessly, Netto stuffed his hands into his pockets, wandering down the stairs at a pace entirely unlike his usual headlong rush.

"Hey Mama," he offered absently, heading into the living room with vague intentions of watching TV, since his own screen played no channels, only video disks.

"Netto!" His mother popped her head out of the kitchen, gasping in dismay at the sight of him. "Have you been standing out in the rain? Honestly! Let me get a towel..."

"It's fine, Mama." Netto poked the TV on with a toe as he passed, collapsing on the couch.

"It is not." His mother bustled in with a bath towel from the closet, clicking her tongue. "Look, you're dripping everywhere!"

"Oh." Blinking, Netto accepted the towel, ducking his head into it and scrubbing at his hair. "Sorry," he muttered, muffled by the fabric.

His mother sighed, the couch dipping a little as she perched beside him, her hand warm and gentle on his shoulder. "Oh, Netto-kun, it will be all right. You have faith in Papa and your friends, right? I know Rockman does."

"Yeah," Netto began, blinking owlishly as she took the towel back and started folding it. Before he could say more, though he had no idea what, the doorbell rang sharply, startling both of them.

"Who could that be?" his mother exclaimed, in a tone of voice that said she at least suspected. Jumping up before Netto could volunteer, she headed out to the door.

"Hello? Ah, Meiru-chan, good afternoon!" Netto winced.

"Hi, Hikari-san. Is Netto sick? He wasn't at school today..."

"Well, not sick exactly – come on in, Meiru-chan, and you can see for yourself. He's in the living room." There was no escape. Belatedly, as his childhood friend appeared in the doorway, hands on her hips as she examined him, Netto realised that it might have been a good idea to let people know what had happened.

"You look like someone died." Chewing her lips in a familiarly frustrated gesture, Meiru stooped over him, pressing her hand to his forehead. "Are you sure you're not sick? You have a chill..."

Netto shrugged her off irritably. "There's nothing wrong with me. Rockman's gone."

"What?!" Caught in the act of standing back up, Meiru froze, eyes widening, then had to flail for balance as she began to topple over.

"Whoa!" Netto grabbed her by the shoulders in order to avoid getting a lapful of Meiru-chan. "Watch out!"

"Sorry, sorry." Meiru straightened up, dusting her skirt off huffily before plonking herself down beside him. "What do you _mean_, Rockman's gone? You're joking, right?"

"I wish." Netto folded his arms across his chest, wincing as his bruised hand twinged. "He was _stolen._ Right out of my PET. On my birthday," he added glumly – that was the icing on the cake he'd never got. Mama had donated it to her coffee morning yesterday.

"No way." Meiru gaped at him; was brought up short by a distinctly shaky question from the PET slung phone-style around her neck.

"He's okay, right?"

"...I don't know, Roll-chan." Netto clenched his fists, then swore. "Crap. Ow." Gingerly, he shook out his bandanna-wrapped hand, attempting to keep it out of Meiru's line of vision. "We'll find him, though. Everyone's working on it – even Laika's flying in today."

"Well, of course." Meiru nodded firmly, lifting her PET to speak to her Navi. "We'll help too, right, Roll-chan?"

"Yep," Roll chirped, flicking her projector on in a cascade of pixels. "Just say the word, Netto-kun."

"Uh." Netto blanked for a moment. "Well, I guess you could start asking around the Navis in the west mall area? It was about 12:35 on Saturday – maybe someone saw something."

"Right." Roll-chan nodded her little pink head seriously. "I'll get everyone to help."

"I guess this means the birthday party's off this weekend, hm?" Meiru asked; Netto shrugged.

"We'll have it when Rock's back safe." He refused to contemplate the possibility of any other outcome.

"Yeah." Meiru smiled bravely, putting a hand on his shoulder in what was probably intended as a supportive gesture. "Netto-kun, what's wrong with your hand?"

Crap. Netto twitched away from her. "Nothing," he tried, eyeing the stubborn set of her jaw warily.

"Let me see," Meiru insisted, leaning across him with absolutely no regard for his personal space in order to capture his hand. Netto squawked, attempting to wriggle away, but she'd already caught him and was unwrapping his clumsy bandanna bandage.

"Meiru-chan!" he protested as she tugged his hand into the light.

"Honestly, Netto, what did you do to yourself?" She was glaring as she wrapped the bandanna back around his knuckles. Netto squirmed, then yelped as she pulled it tight.

"Nothing!" The doorbell rang again, and he could hear his mother's light footsteps hurrying from the kitchen.

"Like hell." Meiru set her jaw mulishly, refusing to let him take his hand back. "Netto." That was the I Am Your Childhood Friend look. Netto winced.

"Fine, I hit the wall, okay?" he muttered, face heating.

"You – oh, for goodness' sake." Meiru clicked her tongue at him, sighing as though she was the injured one. "Honestly. _Boys_." Her grip on his hand gentled, though.

"Ready to go?" Enzan's voice from the doorway startled Netto halfway out of his skin; he gaped at this sudden apparition for a moment before belatedly putting two and two together with the doorbell that had rung.

"Enzan!"

"Hi." Meiru-chan gave a little wave, smiling. "Is there any news, Enzan-kun?"

"Not yet." Enzan flicked a glance to her, nodding so briefly that it was barely an acknowledgement of her presence. "Laika's plane is landing in half an hour."

Netto frowned; there was something slightly out of tune between Enzan's expression and his tone of voice. He reclaimed his hand from Meiru's grasp with relief, jumping to his feet. "We're going to the airport," he elaborated, glancing at Enzan. "Meiru-chan can come too, right?"

"Ah, I'd love to, but I have homework." Smoothing her skirt, Meiru rose gracefully to her feet, glancing between the two of them. "I'll collect your assignments for you, Netto, but you'd better do them. And I'll let everyone know to start asking around." She patted Netto's shoulder on her way to the door, where Enzan stepped aside for her. "We'll find him, Netto-kun, so no more disagreements with the walls, okay?"

"Thanks, Meiru-chan," Netto muttered sourly as she left. She wasn't going to let him live that down, was she?

"Walls?" Enzan queried in a dubious tone of voice, frowning at him. Netto shrugged uncomfortably, lifting his bandaged hand in illustration.

"Ah." Enzan merely nodded, obviously Getting It. Netto grinned in relief, shuffling out into the hall in search of his shoes. It was good to have someone who understood.

* * *

Jealousy, Enzan had decided long ago, was an unpleasant waste of time and energy. It was therefore a double irritant that he was having difficulty banishing the persistent memory of Sakurai Meiru clutching at Netto's hand. Grimly, he turned his mind to the real problem at hand, recounting the day's progress to Netto as his driver took them by the most direct route to the airport.

"Your father is still working on analysing the code samples isolated from the exploit program and the virus. Meijin and Manabe-san are investigating sales of the type of obsolete equipment that seems to have been used to create them. And the Net Police have been working through potential access nodes, indexing pathways."

"Right." Netto bit his lip, watching buildings flash by outside the tinted windows before turning back to Enzan. "Enzan – thanks for all this." Their eyes met for a moment before Enzan looked away, refusing to fidget. The bitter taste of envy was suddenly gone as if it had never been.

"Don't thank me yet," he muttered, studying the scenery himself for a moment until he was sure the heat in his face had faded. "I spoke to Laika before he boarded. We're taking a trip into the Undernet later."

"Eh?!" Netto sat bolt upright, staring at him. With his bandanna wrapped around his hand, his hair flopped messily into his eyes. Enzan resisted the urge to reach out and push it back for him. "You don't have to –"

"We agreed it's the best chance we have for information," Enzan said shortly as the car pulled into the priority waiting lane at the airport. "Don't tell me you wouldn't do the same. Come on."

"Of course I would." Netto scrambled out of the limo after him, face clouding momentarily. Enzan, watching, could clearly see pain cross his eyes, but he shook it off, smiling shakily. "I'm grateful, okay, but it won't help me or Rockman if you and Blues get hurt."

Leading the way into the airport, Enzan quirked a grin back at him. "Did you forget who you're talking to? We'll hold you to that rematch, when he's back." When, not if, and the way Netto's eyes lit up was worth anything.

"This way." It seemed to be peak time; Arrivals was packed with people, clamouring, waving and holding signs. Stepping into a momentary lull, Enzan was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a familiar uniform; Laika remained taller than both he and Netto.

"Laikaaaa!" Unreserved as ever, Netto had no compunctions about jumping up and down, waving a hand in the air as he hollered for their friend's attention at the top of his voice. Shaking his head tolerantly, Enzan rolled his eyes at Netto's antics, but had to admit that the tactic was effective; Laika was heading in their direction.

"What?" Catching his expression, Netto blinked expectantly at him. Enzan shook his head again, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Nothing."

"Huh. Whatever." Netto eyed him sideways, then shrugged, turning as Laika approached. "Hi."

"Netto, Enzan." Laika swung his bag off his shoulder, face sober and professional as he glanced between them. "Has there been further news?"

"Nothing." Netto hunched his shoulders, jaw visibly clenching as he toed at the ground. "Thanks for coming."

"It's nothing." Laika glanced between them again, and Enzan took the hint, leading the way back to the car. Faintly, he could hear Blues greeting Searchman in clipped tones; that was another worry. He seemed to be taking Rockman's absence worse than Enzan would have predicted, if he'd ever spared a thought for such an outlandish circumstance. While Enzan could read between the lines there, he wasn't sure that Blues, designed very much as a warrior Navi, possessed the same level of emotional self-awareness. Hopefully, Enzan thought as he sat back, letting Netto describe the situation to Laika as they sped toward Sci-Labs, this evening's exercise would allow Blues some outlet for his frustration.

* * *

"Ready." Alighting on a flat and featureless cyber-plain well outside even the lesser-travelled areas of the Densan public network, Blues looked up as first one then two viewing windows opened overhead, Searchman dropping to one knee opposite him with his scope down and rifle already out.

"Weak point confirmed," he agreed shortly, examining the panels of the grid. "Ready."

"Got it," Enzan-sama echoed overhead. Blues flicked a glance up, pleased to see his Operator's face alert and predatory as he held up a pair of chips. "Battle chip: Variable Sword, double slot in!"

Accepting the weapon data, Blues locked eyes with Searchman for a fraction of a second before they both kicked off the ground in unison.

"Scope Gun!"

"Sonic Boom!"

As everyone who made a habit of frequenting the Undernet knew, the easiest way to get there was by way of the Forgotten Zones, where viruses chipping away at the network created conduits between the cyberworld and its hidden layers. The quickest, dirtiest way, however, was to find a weak spot in the cyberscape and blast your way through by main force. It was, all three Operators had concluded after the Commissioner had briefed them on the case's progress, no time for niceties.

Blues really couldn't find it in himself to disagree. As the smoke and pixel debris cleared, revealing the sizeable, jagged hole that they'd blown in the fabric of the network, he swapped out the Variable Sword chips for his standard blade, staring into the depths. Nothing but darkness, and the faint, far-off glitter of stray data.

"Enzan-sama?" he prompted, hearing the viewing windows pop closed above. Without Rockman there, Netto would take on the task of spotting for them, watching their backs from a Sci-Labs terminal that had been slaved to their PETs.

"Yes." Enzan's voice took on a curious echo as he moved into synchronisation with Blues. It felt a little like Cross Fusion, only here the sensation was of Enzan overlapping _him_, boosting stats and offering protection. They breathed as one...

"Full Synchro." Netto's voice, tense and distant, told them what they already knew; Blues looked up, seeing Laika behind Searchman's eyes.

"Let's go." Sword held defensively before him, he stepped forward, pushing off the edge and diving headlong into the depths.

"Twelve seconds." Netto's voice was noticeably fainter down here. Blues narrowed his eyes as stray panels tumbled past, only the wind that whipped at his hair giving a true indication of the speed of his descent.

"Ten seconds to contact." Searchman was a rust-and-green comet, matching his vector a few lengths away.

"Five seconds." He could see the faint shimmer of a distant surface, coming up fast.

"Three, two, one –"

They hit with enough force to buckle panels and throw off great clouds of displaced pixels. Sword held ready, Blues waited for the dust to settle, feeling Enzan's wary anticipation mesh with his own.

"Viruses incoming," Netto's distant voice warned them; Blues felt Enzan slot in a LongSword chip for backup. "Small fry, eight – no, ten of them."

Easy enough. Blues leapt into motion, slicing into the ragged pack of mismatched viruses. Cutting straight through a lantern-bearing Sword Knight, he heard the sharp cracking of Searchman's rifle as he and Laika sniped the stragglers. Running the last dented Mettool neatly through, Blues straightened, looking around with the strange doubled sight of Full Synchro.

_Desolate_, Enzan-sama commented silently; Blues agreed. The featureless plain of the Undernet spread out around them in all directions, rising in the distance to mountainous peaks where data had evolved over time into almost organic shapes. On the face of it, it was hard to imagine how they would find any information about Rockman here, but Blues was well aware that it only _seemed_ as though they were the only living data on the grid. The Undernet's residents were a powerful, wary bunch, and Blues echoed Enzan's quiet confidence that their spectacular arrival had already been noted.

"I give it five minutes," Netto spoke up cockily, though his voice remained tense and drawn.

"That long?" Searchman responded dryly, and indeed as Blues turned towards him there was a sudden flaring disturbance in the fabric of the network ahead of them.

_Hell_. That unrestrained energy signature, powerful enough to knock a lesser Navi into stasis, was instantly recognisable. "Look out!" Blues shouted, even as Enzan, back in the physical world, called his name.

"Muramasa Style!"

The centre of his own massive flux of power, Blues snatched his sword out of the air as Forte stepped through his impromptu gateway, cloak billowing.

"Oh?" Impassive violet eyes took in and dismissed Searchman, kneeling with his rifle locked on target, and moved to Blues, who had his sword raised and ready to strike. "You." Colours flared from the gate behind him, which was, Blues knew, a hole ripped through the fabric of the Undernet itself. "I knew I recognised that battle aura." Forte lifted a hand, a ball of pulsing purple energy growing rapidly in his palm. "Explain yourself. Where's your blue shadow?"

Choosing to ignore the provocative phrasing, Blues watched Forte's eyes rather than the gathering force strike. "That's what we'd like to know," he bit out tersely. "His program has been stolen."

Forte's eyes narrowed. "_Humans_," he snarled, jumping immediately to his own conclusions, which Blues and Enzan had to admit probably weren't entirely incorrect. "Why are you _here_?" Forte demanded, fingers clenching around his ball of energy with a warning crackle.

"For information." Searchman spoke up in neutral tones, face closed and wary. Forte spared him another brief glance before ignoring him utterly, all his attention on Blues.

"If he was here, I would _know_." Forte bared sharp teeth in a grin. "And I would destroy him."

"Like hell." To Blues' surprise – how had he managed that, at this distance? – a viewing window opened overhead, Netto glaring narrow-eyed down at the black-and-gold Navi. "Forte, if you know who took him –"

"Then I would also destroy them, _human_." Forte threw back his cloak, pulling another ball of energy out of nowhere. "Rockman is _my_ prey! Now get out of here!" And he struck, the overwhelming power of the attack forcing Blues and Searchman out of the network entirely.

Thrown violently back into his PET, Blues stared up at his Operator's grim face as Netto yelped in the background, his terminal overloading in a flash of light and sparks. Laika was staring at his own PET, looking astonished.

"Well," Enzan said finally, as the Commissioner dragged a fire extinguisher to Netto's aid. "That went about as well as could be expected." He frowned, bringing up a diagnostic utility. Silently, Blues took control of it from him, checking his own and the PET's systems. "I can't say I was expecting Forte, though."

"He's just like that." Flames successfully warded off, Netto left the now-inoperable terminal, coming over to peer into first Searchman's then Blues' PET screens. "Everyone okay?"

"Fine." Blues dismissed the diagnostic, nodding fractionally in confirmation as Enzan looked a question at him.

"No damage." Laika looked up from checking Searchman as Netto dropped into the chair between them. "Where does that leave us?"

Blues listened with half of his attention as they fell back to the same old discussions. Forte's words – _Rockman is _my_ prey!_ - refused to leave his mind, striking an almost automatic chord of pure denial. For all their friendship, Rockman was also very much his rival. Forte might be akin to a force of nature – and Blues knew all too well that it was beyond futile to try and dissuade him from any course of action – but the thought of giving Rockman up to him was, simply, not to be borne. If anyone was going to defeat Rockman, it was going to be him.

Satisfied with this rationalisation of the situation, Blues turned his full attention back to the discussion in progress. The sooner they recovered Rockman, the sooner they could get on with their promised battle.

* * *

Three days, seven hours and twenty-seven minutes. Rockman paced the limits of the cage, turning and turning as he was halted in every direction by the bars. He was exhausted, and desperately in need of some shutdown time to defragment and recharge, but he refused to make himself that vulnerable in an unknown system. Nevertheless, Rockman realised, he had perhaps half an hour remaining before his self-regulation systems took over and _forced_ shutdown.

With that in mind, he really should be looking for a way out, but Rockman had concluded after the first frenzied hours – and the first session of invasive, not-quite-painful testing – that there _was_ no way out. Whoever had built the cage, and presumably the entire system, was a master far beyond his and Netto's level.

After that initial realisation, he'd spent several hours huddled over his knees in the centre of the cell, indulging his depression by wallowing in miserable thoughts of Netto, their parents and friends – and, always, Blues. Privately, in the secret depths of his core, Rockman had promised himself that if he got out of here, he would Do Something about Blues, whatever that might involve. Having come to this decision, he had resumed pacing the cell, waiting grimly for whatever his captors decided to throw at him next.

"You'll have to recharge at some point, you know." The doll-like Navi was back, staring eyelessly at him. Turning to face it, Rockman narrowed his eyes, ignoring its words.

"Why do you want my data?" he demanded, watching its eerily jerky movements in a futile attempt to pick up some kind of reaction.

"For the Infinity Engine." The Navi gestured, and Rockman flinched as the scanners in the ceiling started up again with that mind-numbing hum.

"What's that?" he pressed urgently, taking a step forward so that he was just shy of contact with the bars. To his horror, the Navi actually laughed, the sound incredibly _wrong_ in its annoying monotone.

"Why should I tell you? Navis like you will be obsolete soon." The humming rose to fever pitch, and Rockman suppressed a wince, holding himself perfectly still as a blue-white light enveloped him. It felt like he was being stripped down, line by line of his code laid bare and examined by prying eyes, but he had learned early on that the Navi was right. Moving made the discomfort a thousand times worse as every command and impulse was caught and examined by the scanner.

Gritting his teeth, Rockman forced himself to endure the intrusive probing. Even exhausted, he reassured himself firmly, he was strong, had endured far worse. To his horror, though, the desperate need for recharge made his control over his emotional programming unstable, and the scan – or whoever was directing it – seemed to zero in on that. Unable to prevent it from rifling through his most personal feelings, from fist-clenching hatred to core-deep love, Rockman cried out in protest as images were dragged up to float across his mind. Netto high-fiving his holo-projected self after a victory. The cherished photographic image of Haruka and Yuichirou smiling over the heads of their infant twins. The memory of Blues turning to him with a smile, mid-battle, hair a shining silver aura flaring about him.

"Oh?" The doll Navi tilted its head in a too-human gesture. "You think you're in love. How interesting."

Feeling utterly violated, Rockman gritted his teeth against the prickling surge of pain as he raised his arm and formed his buster, expending the last of his energy in a charged shot that crackled across the energy bars a fraction of a length in front of his blank, emotionless target.

"Useless," his captor observed dispassionately as error messages cascaded across his vision. The dry, toneless sound of its voice followed Rockman mercilessly down into blessed, pain-free unconsciousness.


	11. Chapter 11

Title: Infinite Gravity  
Part: 11/18  
Rating: T  
Characters/Pairings: Rockman & Blues, Netto & Enzan  
Notes: Set a good five years after canon. This is slightly AU in that I've played fast and loose with canon versions and background details - it's mostly based on the anime timeline, but there are some significant game and manga details in here too, as well as some made up stuff like new viruses and attacks. Please be warned that this fic contains shameless fanon cliches, because they are relevant to the plot. The concept of triple-A security is adapted from Xenosaga, for the record.

**Infinite Gravity**

**11.**

"Now that everyone is here, I'll run through what we know so far." The Commissioner glanced around the room, gathering everyone's attention, his eyes lingering fractionally on Netto, who hunched his shoulders under the scrutiny. He would have preferred to be almost anywhere else but at another endless meeting, listening to the same scattered, incomplete pieces of information. After five days – five days! - it was hard to hold onto any shred of hope. A nasty, insistent little voice had started to pop up in his mind more and more frequently, whispering that Rockman was probably deleted by now. Netto had never really realised how much he'd come to rely on the solid, reassuring sense of Rockman's presence.

"We've established that the person or persons responsible for the theft of Rockman –"

"Abduction," Enzan interrupted smoothly, turning from the window he'd been staring out of. Netto blinked at him as he elaborated. "Not theft. Rockman is more than just data."

"True, true." The Commissioner visibly regrouped himself, frowning. "As I was saying, those responsible for the abduction, thank you Enzan-kun, were also responsible for the virus attack and hack attempt on Sci-Labs' Dimensional Generator project, and the infective virus attack on the Net Police HQ." He examined his notes. "The most obvious link between the three incidents is the Net Saviours themselves, but all our investigations on that front have been unproductive. None of the known current or former cyber-terrorists who might bear a grudge have the ability for the level of coding that we've seen with these viruses."

"Dr Wily could have done it," Netto's father contributed. Unshaven, he looked as though he hadn't slept in days. He certainly hadn't come home, or indeed set foot out of the lab, as far as Netto was aware. "It's not at all his style, though."

"Dr Wily is no longer a threat," the Commissioner agreed shortly. "There have been no reports of any criminal or black market incidents that could tie to the case, but the Net Police are continuing to investigate. One possible lead we have is that all of the malware programs were created on the same sub-mainframe PC terminal, an obsolete AT-5 system, which suggests that the perpetrator may have limited resources. We have the serial number for definitive identification, in case of a positive match." He cleared his throat, and Netto shifted, picking at the fraying edges of the bandanna still wrapped around his hand.

"We also have information – unverified information – that Rockman is not being held anywhere within the Undernet..."

"Commissioner, Forte had no reason to tell us anything but the truth." Enzan moved away from the window, addressing the room at large as he took the single empty seat next to Netto. "He had nothing to gain by lying or misdirection, and he wouldn't willingly work with humans, right?" He looked to Netto for confirmation.

"Right," Netto agreed, hating the tired and despondent sound of his own voice.

"We have to assume that humans are behind this." Enzan sat back, voice as crisp and efficient as though he was addressing a board meeting. "The idea that Net Saviours are being targeted doesn't ring true. Whoever is orchestrating this has an ultimate aim, and we don't yet know what that is."

"Huh." Absently, Netto wondered how Enzan had managed to escape from his office for most of the week. "I still don't get why they'd want Rockman."

"Rockman is pretty unique, Netto-kun," his father pointed out quietly. Netto shrugged irritably.

"Yeah, I know that. But no one else does, outside Net Saviours, right?"

"True." Dr Hikari frowned, rubbing at the stubble on his chin. "For that matter – is it possible that the attack on HQ was orchestrated purely to distract attention from the infection of Netto's PET? If someone is targeting me or my work, Rockman would probably be high on the list..."

"It's a possibility." Meijin-san looked grave, adjusting his goggles soberly. "In which case, there is a real possibility that Rockman may simply have been deleted."

Netto flinched, squeezing his eyes shut, and beyond grateful when Enzan shifted minutely closer, putting them shoulder to shoulder. The warm, solid offer of support was absurdly comforting, and Netto leant into the contact without thinking about it further than that.

"No." His father stated it categorically; Netto blinked heavy eyes open to see him shaking his head emphatically. "It's part of why I originally blocked Rockman and Netto's potential for connection – Netto would know, if Rockman were permanently damaged or deleted."

"Agreed," Laika spoke up unexpectedly from his corner where he had been listening expressionlessly. "The fact remains that the connection has been blocked, however."

"Blocked..." his father trailed off, the familiar look of intense concentration crossing his face. "The level of security that that would take... if it's not the Undernet.... Commissioner!" He looked up decisively. "Check out disused military locations, anything with triple-A or higher security."

"Understood." The Commissioner nodded sharply. "Manabe-kun, please get started on that immediately."

"Yes, sir." Smoothing her skirt neatly, Manabe-san rose quietly, already pulling out her PET as she left the room.

Laika, too, rose. "With your permission, I will assist."

"Excellent." The Commissioner nodded approval, organising his notes. "Dr Hikari, your current priority should be to identify the exact vector for the infection of the PET. Meijin, continue to attempt to isolate a destination address from the exploit program samples." He paused as the two men nodded acquiescence, considering the two teenagers on the couch. "Enzan-kun, take Netto-kun home. He's running on fumes."

Netto, unable to honestly deny this, settled for glaring mutinously as Enzan caught him by the arm, dragging him up onto his feet.

"Come on, Netto." His voice, surprisingly gentle and pitched for Netto's ears alone, held a note that Netto couldn't quite identify. Or maybe, he was forced to admit as a series of yawns viciously attacked him, he was just too tired to make sense of much. He'd tried to sleep last night – or had it been the night before? - but nightmares had driven him out of bed and onto the internet, where he'd searched on everything he could think of, turning up nothing at all. Finding anything online without a Navi to help was always going to be a losing proposition.

"I can walk by myself," Netto protested irritably as Enzan led him out of the room and toward the exit. He didn't pull away, though, glad of the tangible sense of connection that Enzan's hand on his arm provided, however tenuous and temporary.

* * *

Not entirely unpredictably, Netto's head began drooping the moment Enzan got him seated in the back of the car. That didn't make it one bit less stunning – and faintly alarming – when Netto sighed and settled against his side, head a dead weight falling onto his shoulder. Enzan froze, and only Blues' soft voice from the PET distracted him into breathing again.

"Enzan-sama, will you need me?" This, in Blues' typical unspoken implications, was a request to be allowed to go and hunt viruses. Enzan considered a moment, calculating Blues' evident tension and frustration against recent reports of virus activity, before acquiescing.

"Call me if you need me." A quick half hour of virus busting would do him a world of good, too, after a week of leads that led nowhere and his father cold-shouldering him.

"Yes, Enzan-sama." Blues pixelated out in a rush, and the only sound in the back of the car was once again the hum of the engine and the soft sigh of Netto's breathing.

"Why is it always you?" Enzan found himself asking after a long moment, not really expecting an answer. Despite himself, he yawned; he was tired himself, and Netto's warmth was a great temptation to rest his own eyes. Setting his jaw, Enzan pulled out his PET, bringing tomorrow's schedule up manually and starting to sort through appointments. Some of what couldn't be cancelled could be rescheduled, but there was at least one meeting he would have to attend.

The driver pulled up smoothly outside the Hikari residence, and Enzan shook Netto gently by the shoulder, succeeding in rousing him to owlish, blinking semi-awareness.

"Home," Enzan explained succinctly as he opened the door, wondering for an awkward moment whether he would actually have to carry the idiot. Netto managed to stumble out of the car, though, just as the door of his house cracked open and his mother slipped out.

"Yuichirou-san called," Hikari-san explained in a whisper, taking deft charge of her stumbling son. "Ah, Netto, wake up a bit," she admonished. "You're not sleeping on the couch again..."

Enzan smiled wearily to himself, watching them enter the house before turning back to his car and the serious business of tracking down Navi-kidnappers. For all of Dr Hikari's confidence in the link, Netto wasn't going to last much longer without cracking. Not without Rockman.

* * *

The jellyfish virus exploded into a rapidly dissipating cloud of pixels, and Blues whirled, ripping his blade through another of the minor pests with enough force to fell a Darkloid. As if the entire cyberworld could sense his dangerous irritation, nothing had come out to meet him but small fry, barely worth his time. Scowling, Blues tore through another cluster of them, looking around in the hope that stronger enemies might be attracted by the scent of battle.

The cyberscape was entirely empty, save for a lone Mettool fleeing towards the traffic control systems in the distance. Standing down with reluctance, Blues dismissed his sword, starting to walk towards the distant stacks of more populated systems.

The investigation was proving entirely as unproductive as he'd feared, and after almost six days Rockman had still not been found. Every minute that passed meant the trail grew colder.

"Blues." A viewing window opened overhead, Enzan looking down into the PET as he tugged his tie off one-handed. He looked tired, Blues thought dispassionately, more so than even the board meeting he had doubtless just come from could account for. "I'm heading to Sci-Labs; I'll meet you there."

"Yes, Enzan-sama." Blues nodded crisply as the window closed, turning and heading in the direction of the nearest multiserve router at a much slower speed than he was accustomed to. They had planned to spend the afternoon hunting down – and shaking down – some of Net City's more notorious characters in the search for information. Whether they would have any success at all was debatable, if even Forte didn't know Rockman's whereabouts.

Everyone involved was getting more desperate. Blues had seen it in Enzan's eyes, in the tightness of Netto's face and the exhaustion of the scientists. The possibility that Rockman really had been deleted refused to stop plaguing him, and had now begun to haunt him even in sleep mode. While Navis didn't precisely dream, it wasn't unknown for the defragmentation processes that occurred during recharge to fling up random images and pieces of memory to be re-processed. Lately, Blues had found his sleep filled with images of Rockman – most particularly and persistently the way his face had lit up when they'd faced each other across the battle stage at HQ.

The whole thing made no sense. Reaching the edge of the more travelled zones that bordered the freeway, Blues dodged between bustling Navis, crossing the faintly glowing panels of the path and tagging into the router. They still had no satisfactory answer – or even a theory – as to why anyone would want to abduct Rockman. There was a reason for everything, and until they found the reason they were unlikely to find Rockman.

Speeding through the swift currents of near-instantaneous transmission, Blues transferred easily between nodes, flashing onto the blue-green grid of the public wireless network that bordered Net City. For all they knew, Rockman could have been transferred out to another country by now. Although a watch had been set on all the main information ports as soon as the scale of the situation had emerged, the Net Police were only too fallible.

"Blues." The sound of his name made him whirl, halfway to summoning his sword despite the evident safety of the area. Searchman's impassive face looked back at him, and Blues swallowed the hard knot of tangled emotions in his throat, forcing irrelevancies aside.

"Searchman. Any luck?" He already knew the answer; Searchman would not be here if any more secure databases remained to be searched.

"No signs of tampering in any of Densan City's Triple-A systems," Searchman reported shortly. Blues nodded, unsurprised. Triple-A security was rare and expensive enough that anyone using it would be monitoring their systems very closely. He'd checked IPC's servers himself. Dr Hikari had been right, though, that only that level of security could imprison Rockman for long, let alone block his bond with Netto-san. Blues frowned, absently sorting through bits of information like data blocks in a vain effort to make the puzzle make sense. It remained frustratingly elusive.

"Heading to Sci-Labs?" Searchman asked; Blues nodded.

"Enzan-sama was delayed by a board meeting at IPC."

"Ah." Searchman frowned as they crossed the grid, skirting a patch of sparking panels that were being worked on by a Navi technician. "It must be problematic juggling Net Saviours with a high-level career."

Blues shrugged. "No more so than with the army, I imagine. Your superiors can't have been pleased with this emergency."

"Is anyone?" Searchman turned to regard Blues. "You seem to be taking this harder than I would have predicted," he observed neutrally, reminding Blues of just how keen his eyes were.

"Oh?" Blues fell silent, considering that. Unwillingly, he had to admit that Searchman was as usual correct. Rockman's absence was affecting him more than he was entirely comfortable admitting. "It's – awkward to run a case without him," was all he said, eventually – the truth, as far as it went. Searchman nodded soberly, accepting this.

"You do work together a lot." Blues nodded shortly, heading towards the network node that would connect them to Sci-Labs. He and Rockman worked _well_ together, and there was no point in denying it. Years of comradeship and shared battles had left them able to predict one another's moves, just as Enzan and Netto could.

Blues narrowed his eyes behind his visor. That they made a good team – the best team – did nothing to alter the fact that he'd come to rely on Rockman's presence in his life. That was the troubling thing; Blues was a Navi and a warrior, and by rights his allegiance should be to Enzan-sama alone. Anything else was an open vulnerability waiting to be exploited.

"Blues! There you are!" Arms outstretched like a gymnast, Roll made a dainty landing ahead of them, forcing Blues to halt. She waved a greeting to Searchman, dimpling in obvious amusement as he just blinked at her.

"What is it?" Blues asked shortly. "We're in the middle of a Class One emergency."

"Well, I know _that_." Roll pouted at him, setting her hands on her hips. "I came to tell you that Glyde found a Navi who was at the mall when Rockman disappeared, and might have seen something. Here." She offered a file, and Blues took it as calmly as he was able, grateful for the blank impassivity of his visor as hope clenched like a vise around his core. Scanning the file quickly, he absorbed what the unknown Navi had seen – not much, all told, bar a temporarily overloaded node that had forced him to reroute his delivery run, but it was the first tenuous thread of a trail they'd had.

"Searchman." He handed the file over reluctantly, aware that even as good as he knew he was, he wasn't the tracker here. "Take it from here – I'll notify Enzan-sama and the Commissioner."

"Understood." Searchman examined the file briefly, then blurred into motion, heading off into the public zones. Blues watched Roll watch him go, before she turned back to him.

"Find Rockman soon, all right? Everyone misses him."

Blues dipped his head in acknowledgement as she logged out, and turned to head in towards Sci-Labs. That was Rockman, making everyone care without ever meaning to or doing anything but being himself. Blues, too; he winced as another memory chipped away at the core of his resolve. Rockman had looked so very stunned when Blues had pinned him, eyes wide enough that Blues had seen himself reflected whole. The prospect of a lead, even a tenuous one, had reawakened the breathless, anticipatory feeling that he'd pushed aside at that time.

Privately, in the deep and aching heart of his core, Blues resigned himself at last to the fact that he was already vulnerable. He'd known it since Dr Hikari had asked the leading question, back at the re-certification tests, and the certainty had only grown as he'd tried to deny it. Despite every misgiving he had, he cared for Rockman – loved him, in truth – and his loss left a gaping hole in Blues' existence that no amount of Net Battling could fill. And – Blues froze mid-step, the cyberscape around him coming into sharp focus as his mind finally put the obvious pieces together, making the connection that they'd all been missing. The tendril of hope blossomed until it all but choked him; Blues clenched his fists, hardly daring to believe that it could actually be that simple.

He knew where Rockman was.

* * *

Rockman had been forced to admit, after the panic over awakening in an unfamiliar place and vulnerable state had subsided, that the inadvertent recharge had actually done him a lot of good. It was easier to face things with a clear head and sharp processors.

Sadly, neither the time spent offline nor his increased alertness had resulted in any change to his situation, which remained dire. He'd been alone when he'd come back online, thankfully, the doll-like Navi – which he was beginning to doubt was actually a Navi at all – nowhere in evidence. At first, it had been a relief to be spared its dry commentary, not to mention the prying discomfort of the tests, but the cramped conditions and constant sensation of being watched had quickly begun to wear.

Halfway convinced that this was another test of some kind – it had been twelve hours and seven minutes since his awakening, by his internal clock, and well over five days of captivity – Rockman had resorted to pacing the boundaries of the cage again, staring out at the flat and featureless plain surrounding his prison. Although no partitions or boundaries were visible, he nevertheless had the impression of a closed space, far smaller than it appeared. Wherever he was being held, the cage prevented him from tapping into the local network in search ID codes or a way out. The block on the link, however, implied that security was tighter than he'd ever imagined. His abductors had been well prepared, indeed.

"Awake at last, are you?" Rockman whirled; the Navi was back. It seemed to make a habit of transferring in behind him, which only added to his suspicions. Its words made him frown, wondering whether it was trying to be ironic, or to confuse him – or whether it actually had no access to whatever utility was monitoring him.

"More tests?" he challenged, clenching his fists stubbornly and refusing to back down even in the face of its eyeless stare. It tilted its head, seeming to regard him from an angle.

"Correct. The data from your recharge cycle has provided another angle of investigation."

Paling, Rockman shivered despite himself at the thought that this thing had been observing his sleeping thoughts – his _dreams_.

"Relax," his jailer instructed emotionlessly, making a puppet-like gesture. The lights overhead brightened, and the humming started up again, much deeper than usual. Rockman was sure he could feel the cage vibrating faintly around him. Holding himself reluctantly still in anticipation of the intrusive, uncomfortable probing, Rockman set his jaw, trying to gather all the depths of his anger in his eyes as though looks could actually kill.

Only seconds into the test, though, a sharp cracking noise split the air, and the entire cage actually did tremble around him. The lights and humming cut off abruptly as the doll-like Navi turned to stare into the distance. Worried and confused, half of him certain that things were about to get worse – what if viruses attacked? – Rockman took a step backwards as the system trembled again, the red flash of warning signs popping up in the distance. To his shock, the Navi turned to regard him as blankly as ever, even as it began to pixelate out, chunks of its program dissipating and streaming away.

"Lucky you," it observed as tonelessly as ever, and with a start Rockman realised that the cage itself was also dissolving, streaming out of the system to a destination unknown.

Hardly daring to believe it, Rockman took a step, and then another, and broke into a run as the last remnants of his prison vanished. A heady thrill of freedom rushed through him even as he narrowed his eyes grimly. Whatever had forced his captors to flee was destabilising the system; he had to get out of there, and fast.

A flash of red light arcing across the cyber-sky brought him up short. Rockman stumbled to a halt, gaping, as Blues flashed into solid form before him, sword out and hair whipping with the speed of his upload.

"Rockman?" His voice was tight, his shoulders tense, and he looked on the verge of maiming something. He looked _wonderful_. Rockman didn't even think; the surge of emotion – freedom, relief, hope, love – it was too strong. With an incoherent, wordless cry, he launched himself into Blues' arms.


	12. Chapter 12

Title: Infinite Gravity  
Part: 12/18  
Rating: T  
Characters/Pairings: Rockman & Blues, Netto & Enzan  
Notes: Set a good five years after canon. This is slightly AU in that I've played fast and loose with canon versions and background details - it's mostly based on the anime timeline, but there are some significant game and manga details in here too, as well as some made up stuff like new viruses and attacks. Please be warned that this fic contains shameless fanon cliches, because they are relevant to the plot. The concept of triple-A security is adapted from Xenosaga.

**Infinite Gravity**

**12.**

Whatever he had been expecting to find upon breaking into the closed, hidden subsystem, this wasn't it. Blues staggered, astonished, under Rockman's weight, feeling the solid warmth of him shake something core-deep.

Almost immediately, though, Rockman stiffened and pulled away abruptly, looking anywhere but at Blues as he blushed. "Sorry," he muttered awkwardly. Blues closed his eyes for a moment, shoving aside disappointment and longing. Now was hardly the time.

"Are you all right?" he asked urgently, examining Rockman closely. "We need to get out of here."

"Yeah." Rockman nodded firmly, eyes shadowed despite the bright brilliance of his smile. "Where's Netto-kun?"

"At Sci-Labs." As Rockman's brow furrowed, Blues elaborated. "This is a central subsystem that was created in HQ's closed motherframe, probably during the attacks."

"Oh – oh!" Rockman's eyes widened as that sank home; Blues nodded grimly. He'd been hidden in plain sight, in the triple-A secured database that none of them had thought to check. Only the memory of Dr Hikari's questioning during the re-certification tests had reminded him that this hub even existed. "I had to destroy the security program in order to get in, and it seems to have triggered a full shutdown."

"Oh." Rockman absorbed this again, biting his lip. "But my program is here."

"I know." Blues eyed him thoughtfully before glancing up at the warning signs still flashing ominously in the distance. If they combined their firepower, perhaps...

"Take me." Rockman's calm statement startled Blues into stillness. "If I go offline, you can carry my program, right?"

"Yes, but –" Blues paused, calculating. He'd come in through the public network and the HQ wireless architecture, burning his own path which was decidedly unsecured, too much of a risk for an unprotected Navi program. Rockman, too, must know that; there was therefore only one solution he could be proposing. If the abductors were still watching, they'd be trapped. "You trust me that far?" he found himself asking soberly, determination and an awkward sort of hope coalescing at his core. Rockman's smile was wide and sweet.

"Of course, if it's you." He glanced around at the rapidly disintegrating system – panels at the horizon were beginning to flicker ominously as they went offline – and nodded firmly. "Are you ready?"

Blues steeled himself, dismissing his sword. "When you are."

"Okay." Smiling, wide green eyes fixed on him the whole time, Rockman went into shutdown. Swallowing, Blues reached out as he faded, tracing his program back to the location where it had been installed and flipping it into transfer mode. It coalesced in his hands, a sparkling ball of complex and revolving blue-green light, spheres within spheres. Awed by the trust placed in him as much as by its beauty, Blues held it carefully close, kicking off out of the rapidly dissolving subsystem. Rockman's captors had been very clever, partitioning off a central section in what was already one of the most secure systems in existence. The level of planning – and hacking ability – which had clearly gone into this was appalling. Grimly, as he flashed from node to node within the rapidly destabilising mainframe, Blues was forced to conclude that they hadn't seen the last of this attacker. He would anticipate the next encounter greatly, and the final takedown couldn't come soon enough.

By the time he reached his intended destination, Rockman's program a warm and faintly pulsing bundle cradled against his chest, the connection between the motherframe and the access terminals had narrowed dangerously. Running cat-footed across the precarious single-panel walkway that bridged the chasm between systems, Blues sent a pulse of data ahead of him, bringing the access terminal abruptly out of hibernation. Not a moment too soon; the walkway panels began to flicker beneath his feet as the connection faded, the motherframe going offline. Setting his jaw and grasping Rockman's program tightly, Blues leapt for the safety of the satellite access terminal, barely making it before the path vanished behind him as the supercomputer shut down.

Without the power of the motherframe behind it, the satellite unit was more than a little cramped, barely big enough to support a Navi. Blues powered up the inoperative wireless receiver, considering and discarding the prospect of moving out into the main HQ network. Rockman in this state was fragile, unable to defend himself, and Blues refused to risk him. He settled for sending an urgent priority message to his own PET address, for Enzan's attention. Sci-Labs wasn't far from HQ; it wouldn't be long to wait.

* * *

"Netto, would you stand still?" Enzan snapped from where he sat attempting to answer an email from his father, thoroughly out of patience with the other's restlessness. It was unfair of him to take his own frustration out on Netto, and he knew it, which only increased his irritation. Even Laika had become terse and narrow-eyed; he was, Enzan knew, rapidly overstaying his leave, and only the Commissioner's intervention had prevented his superiors from calling him back.

Netto paused long enough to give him a mutinous glare before returning to pacing the corridor like a caged animal. Enzan sighed, wincing internally. It really _was_ unfair of him – no matter how much the lack of progress grated on him, Netto bore the brunt of it. He might be visibly frustrated, and not-so-secretly slowly falling to pieces, but at least he'd never given up. Remembering the choking despair of losing Blues, Enzan could only marvel once again at the sheer force of Netto's determination.

Closing out the email as politely as he could manage – the implications that he was neglecting his work were becoming a lot stronger, despite the accrued leave that he was using up fast – Enzan sent it off and regarded the empty screen of the PET thoughtfully. Blues had not yet returned, and although he'd sent a message fifteen minutes ago regarding information that Searchman was following up, Enzan was beginning to feel the first twinges of concern. Slowly, he brought up the link window, typing in the brief commands that would resolve and cross-reference Blues' location IP.

There was a thump as Netto flopped down in the chair beside him. Startled, Enzan looked up to see Netto regarding him morosely from beneath the uneven fall of his hair. Although his hand must by now be decently healed, he still wore his bandanna wrapped around his palm, the red of its insignia barely visible beneath the folds of blue.

"I just –" Netto shrugged, swallowing visibly and looking away from him. "I miss him, is all." His voice was low, pitched out of earshot of the scientists in the room opposite.

"I know." Enzan matched his tone, wishing more than anything at that moment to put a comforting arm around him. A depressed and miserable Hikari Netto was simply unnatural. He settled for placing a reassuring hand on Netto's shoulder in a gesture he could at least pretend was purely friendly, opening his mouth to promise yet again that Rockman would be found.

The demanding chirp of a high-priority message distracted him from empty words. Resigned to another message from the President, Enzan blinked in startlement and not a little relief as Blues' distinctive sigil flashed onto the screen. It was the content of the message that made him sit bolt upright, disbelief and dawning hope flooding like ice water down his spine.

"Netto!" Explanations would take too long, and Blues' message was just cryptic enough that he didn't quite dare to get Netto's hopes up. Clipping the PET to his belt, Enzan grabbed for Netto's hand, towing the other boy in his wake as he set off toward the exit at a near run. "Come with me!"

"Huh?" Stumbling over his feet, Netto pulled away but kept running even as he demanded breathlessly, "What's going on?"

"Blues has a lead," Enzan said shortly, shoving through the doors into the late-afternoon sunshine with Netto hot on his heels. He rapped sharply on the window of his car, startling the driver into dropping the sandwich he'd been eating, before climbing into the back. It was only a couple of blocks to HQ, but he'd left the gift bag with Netto's now-belated birthday gift in the car in any case.

"HQ?" Netto, face now alive with curiosity and confusion, shoved at his shoulder as he finished instructing the driver. "What kind of lead? Enzan, what's going on?"

"I don't know," Enzan reported shortly – which was true as far as it went; he had suspicions, which could turn out to be wrong. "Only that it's urgent."

"Huh." Netto frowned. "Maybe they found a witness? Or one of the hackers?"

"Maybe," Enzan agreed as the car turned sharply, pulling up in front of the main Police HQ entrance. Privately, he doubted it; why would Blues have requested he bring the new PET, unless...? Firmly, Enzan squashed the creeping tendril of hope, focusing purely on the practicalities as he swung out of the car, gift bag and Netto in tow. "This way." Startled constables and lawyers made way hastily as he commandeered an elevator, Net Saviours ID displayed like a shield. He didn't recognise the floor they exited onto, but Blues' instructions had been specific. Three doors, four...

"Here." It was the only lighted room on the hallway. Enzan slid open the door with some trepidation, eyes instantly drawn to the still form of Blues in the monitor. He was holding... Enzan felt his eyes widen as Netto gasped, ducking under his arm and into the room.

"Rock?" His voice was cracked and unsteady, filled with the hope that had been absent for so long. Enzan felt his heart clench as Blues met his gaze, nodding quietly. The blue-green program cradled in his arms pulsed brightly as Netto reached out, touching the screen with trembling fingertips.

"Enzan-sama," Blues said urgently; Enzan nodded, already ripping the paper from the gift he'd wrapped so carefully.

"I've got it." Placing the case on the counter, he snapped it open, lifting out the PET and powering it up. "Netto, let me –"

Netto blinked watery eyes up at him as Enzan pushed him gently aside, focusing on the PET after a long moment. "Enzan, that's not – what?"

"It was intended to be your birthday present," Enzan admitted as he plugged the brand-new terminal physically into the console. "Better late than never. Ready when you are, Blues," he added as Netto stared dumbly at him.

"Initiating transfer," Blues confirmed as the connection opened, uploading into the blue PET with his burden and hesitating only momentarily before releasing the program and flashing back into his own PET.

Unplugging the connection cable with a sigh of satisfaction, Enzan examined the new PET, which was scrolling status bars as it completed the installation process that Blues had begun. All seemed well, and he looked up with a smile that felt two parts joy to one of relief, offering the PET.

"I told you we'd get him back."

"Uh-huh." Netto still looked trapped between shell-shock and disbelief, and his fingers as he accepted the PET from Enzan were cold and trembling. Nevertheless, Enzan could see the dawning light of hope in his eyes as the installation finalised and the PET rebooted.

"Netto-kun?" The sound of Rockman's voice as he pixelated onto the screen laid to rest every lingering worry and doubt that Enzan had. Breathing a sigh of relief, he steadied Netto as he wobbled on his feet, guiding him into the room's single chair.

"Rock-nii..." Netto's voice was choked, and he bowed his head over the PET as though afraid it might be taken from him. Exiting on quiet feet, Enzan left them to it, closing the door behind him and slumping against the wall of the corridor as all the stress and exhaustion of the last week seemed to catch up with him at once.

"Enzan-sama," Blues spoke up quietly from the PET at his hip, "are you all right?"

"Fine." Enzan smiled tiredly, lifting the PET to regard his Navi. The tense set of Blues' shoulders had eased at last, and his face beneath the visor had lost the drawn look he'd developed. "Good job, Blues. Thanks."

"It was nothing," Blues demurred, shaking his head slowly. "I should have realised sooner."

"So should we all." Enzan sighed. In hindsight, it was always going to have been the last place they looked. If only they'd thought to check sooner... "Patch a connection through to Sci-Labs, please." At least, this time, he would be delivering good news.

* * *

The relief of the link re-establishing itself between them, as strong as ever, was almost overpowering. Netto slumped over the console, curling around the brand-new PET – there would be time for gratitude and thanks later – as highly embarrassing tears blurred his view of Rockman into a blue and pink blur. It didn't matter, because he could feel Rockman again, a solid, comforting presence filling the empty place in his mind and echoing his relief and joy.

_Saito-niisan, I missed you so much._

_I know._ Rockman deepened the link, pulling them closer to Full Synchro. _Me too, Netto-kun._ It wasn't quite a hug, but the near-tangible _presence_ of Rockman in his mind eased the ache that had twisted his heart since he'd first found his twin gone. Netto closed his eyes, letting the tears fall as they would, and blocked out everything outside the link. For just this little bit of time, he needed to feel Rockman there.

_Netto-kun._ Rockman's mental 'voice' was soft and understanding. _It must have been worse for you, not knowing._

_Where _were_ you?_

_Trapped._ A grim tone, that lightened to a promise. _I'll pay them back for hurting you, Netto-kun. I won't forgive them._ Flashes of images, the bright stripes of energy bars and a terrifyingly featureless face. Humiliation and invasive discomfort.

_We'll pay them back,_ Netto corrected. _I won't forgive them, either._ He felt Rockman's assent and agreement mingle with his own determination, and then for a long timeless space it was just the two of them, together again in whatever strange hybrid dimension the link occupied.

At last Netto stirred, the sound of a soft knock gently disrupting the twins' communion. Hastily wiping away the traces of tears, Netto turned to see Enzan looking around the door.

"Your father and the rest of the team will be here soon," Enzan told him quietly. Netto nodded, summoning up a wide if still slightly shaky smile.

"Thank you, Enzan." Pushing himself out of his chair – it would be hard to fit more than two people into this silly cupboard of a room – he addressed Rockman out loud. "I bet you missed everyone, right, Rockman? Even Laika and Searchman flew in to help look for you, you know."

"Really?" Rockman sounded astonished, but when Netto looked down at the PET screen he was smiling. "Everyone really went to a lot of trouble."

"Yeah." Heading out into the corridor just as the lift doors opened to reveal a staggering crush of people – his father, Meijin-san, Laika, the Commissioner and Manabe-san – Netto looked up at Enzan's tired, satisfied face, meeting his eyes for a long moment as he smiled his gratitude. "Thanks," he murmured, too low for the new arrivals to hear, knowing that Enzan's quiet answering smile was for him alone.

* * *

By the time they had got done with all the greetings and protestations of disbelief, it was well after eight and the Commissioner ordered everyone into a meeting room for debriefing while Manabe-san sent out for pizza. Transferring easily into the holo-display on the tabletop, Rockman exchanged smiles with Netto before starting to run through his side of events.

"I don't really remember the attack," he admitted when their father – looking very much the worse for wear, with big shadows under his eyes and at least three days' growth of stubble – began by asking what had happened. "I think I was knocked offline after I triggered it – it must have been set to activate on detection." He frowned, remembering the single glimpse he'd got of something massive and barely there. "I came back online nine hours later, trapped in an energy cell."

"How was it constructed?" Meijin-san asked; he had the recorder on his PET on and was taking notes at the same time. Rockman shrugged.

"Very strongly. The bars were designed to absorb attacks, and the doll-thing said that if it overloaded it would take me with it. I didn't want to test it that far."

"Doll thing?" Laika asked, frowning in obvious puzzlement. Rockman shivered, still creeped out by the memory.

"It was a Navi – or I thought it was, to begin with." He frowned. "Now I'm not sure it wasn't a program, or an avatar. It looked like one of those artists' puppets, no face or colours at all, and it _sounded_ like a standard." Netto flinched abruptly, probably catching a stray image across the link.

"That's like a horror movie." He stared at Rockman, appalled, and Rockman could clearly feel his rising indignation. "What did it want from you?"

"My data." There really was no way to break this gently; Rockman clenched his fists as Netto and their father both sat bolt upright, dawning horror on their faces. "It knew about – Saito," he confirmed unhappily. "It said I was _interesting_, and that it wanted my data for something it called an Infinity Engine." He looked down at his hands, shivering in memory. "It kept running tests on me."

"Tests?" His father's voice was gently, but his eyes when Rockman looked up were narrowed in anger.

"Yeah." Rockman shrugged uncomfortably. "It felt like – being pulled apart and scanned piece by piece. Not just my program, but my thoughts and f-feelings." He choked, shaking his head in an attempt to banish memory. He could feel the simmering roil of Netto's fury clearly through the link.

"That sounds terribly invasive," Manabe-san spoke up in a soft voice; Rockman nodded shortly, wishing wistfully for the reassuring strength of Blues at his side. The warm solidity of him had been startling, however brief the contact, and the memory lingered; Rockman curled his hands slowly into fists, as if to capture and preserve the sensation.

"Why do you say this Navi was more like a program or avatar?" Meijin-san asked, goggles flashing as he looked up from his notes. Rockman frowned, considering it.

"It moved very jerkily, and some of the things it said – it kept telling me I was unique and interesting. Oh!" His eyes widened. "It said that Navis would soon be obsolete."

The Commissioner sat forward at that, frowning in puzzlement. "Do you have any idea what it meant?"

"Not really – only guesses," Rockman admitted, shaking his head. "But – if I had to guess, I would say that it was interested in turning humans into Navis, or merging them into the cyberworld."

That seemed to draw everyone up short, and there was a long silence before Enzan broke it, shifting as he glanced around the room.

"Who do we know who's following those lines of research?"

"No one." Dr Hikari sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. "Myself excluded, anyway. I can't imagine any application of the existing DA technology that could make Navis obsolete..."

"Well, I suppose that's our next line of enquiry." The Commissioner sighed. "It's a pretty conclusive link for the hacked data from Sci-Labs, but we still need to find out whether the attacks here were purely part of the plot to capture Rockman, or whether there was some other purpose."

"From the reports I've seen," Laika said quietly from his corner, "the attack seems to have involved more effort and co-ordination than a diversion would warrant. I would suspect a secondary motive."

"I agree." Dr Hikari looked troubled as he considered this possibility. "The database is still being repaired, but preliminary comparison with the backups showed no data lost or missing."

"We'll need to examine the mainframe where Rockman was kept, too," Meijin-san commented thoughtfully; Rockman saw his father visibly wilt at the thought.

"Tomorrow," the Commissioner declared firmly. "There are unlikely to be any major developments in the next twelve hours, at least. You've all been working non-stop; go home and rest."

Obediently, Rockman left the holo-display, pixelating back into his own PET. It still felt new, and he hadn't had a chance to do more than take a quick look at the systems, but what he'd seen had impressed him greatly. The spec was far beyond even the yet-to-be-released A-types, and the model number was that of an IPC prototype. A birthday gesture from Enzan? he wondered absently, keeping half an ear on the conversation even as he brought up a control panel, starting to tweak the system settings to his liking.

"Netto-kun, you're excused school for one more day, but I expect you to be back in classes on Monday," the Commissioner was saying as Netto wolfed down a last slice of pizza before the boxes were cleared away. To Rockman's faint surprise, Netto didn't seem hugely enthusiastic about the extra free day; he prodded a little, trying to find out why, and received a mental laugh in answer.

_Meiru-chan brought all my assignments home, Rock-nii._

_So tomorrow is homework day?_ Rockman echoed the laugh, playing with camera and connectivity settings.

_Yep. Hey, Rockman, can you email Meiru and the guys for me? Let everyone know you're okay, and they can stop round tomorrow after school if they want._

_Sure,_ Rockman acquiesced, flipping open the email application and pausing a moment to admire the streamlined new features. _Netto-kun, this PET..._

_Pretty cool, huh?_ Netto pulled it out to look at hit, beaming down at him. _It's a prototype, they haven't even started building them yet._

Carefully composing and sending off the email, Rockman shook his head at that. _Enzan-kun must have pulled a lot of strings to get you this, Netto-kun. Make sure to thank him properly._

_I know that,_ Netto argued, drifting over to accost Laika before he could leave. _And I will! _"Hey, Laika, are you going to stick around?" he asked the older boy – young man, really, Rockman supposed – hopefully. "We were planning on hitting the Game Soul on Sunday anyway; tag team Net Battle. Wanna come along and kick our asses at sharpshooting?"

"Netto-kun!" Rockman reprimanded, but he couldn't quite keep from smiling. As good as a battle would be, Netto's bright enthusiasm, after the sad and drawn face that had greeted him, beat anything.

"Sadly, I'm required back in Sharo." Laika's eyes twinkled as Netto made a disgruntled face.

"Well, I guess you gotta do what you gotta do, right?" Netto opined sagely. Rockman barely suppressed a giggle, trading amused databursts with Searchman.

"Quite." Laika tiled his head in a familiar gesture of acknowledgement. "We're still planning to visit this summer, however."

"Awesome." Netto grinned, waving as the Commissioner ushered Laika off, then turned to their father, who had been standing watching the exchange. "You're coming home, right, Papa?"

"Please?" Rockman chimed in worriedly; he really did look the worse for wear.

"Well, I guess I could do with some sleep." Dr Hikari yawned behind his hand, and began patting his pockets. "Keys, keys..."

"Looking for something, Professor?" Manabe-san appeared as if from nowhere, dangling a familiar-looking set of keys. "You're in no fit state to be driving. I'll take the two – excuse me, three of you home."

"Thank you, Manabe-san," Rockman offered politely as they headed for the door. It was definitely for the best; Papa was easily distracted at the best of the times, and the way he was yawning, Rockman could all too easily see him falling asleep on his feet, never mind at the wheel.

"Ah – wait a minute, Papa, Manabe-san..." To his surprise, Netto halted at the exit before taking off at a sprint to where Enzan was climbing into the back of one of his customary black limos. "Hey! Enzan!"

Intrigued, Rockman activated the external camera, watching Netto stumble to a halt in front of Enzan, who had turned with one hand on the open car door, clearly wondering what couldn't wait.

"Yes?" Enzan prompted, a ghost of a smile crossing his face as Netto just stood there, tongue-tied, for a long moment. Rolling his eyes, Rockman gave his twin a gentle mental poke, wondering whether _Netto_ had fallen asleep on his feet.

"Ah – you know, my birthday kind of went to hell what with, well, everything," Netto blurted out, all but tripping over his words. Rockman raised his eyebrows, definitely intrigued now.

"So," Netto continued doggedly, "do you want to maybe come over for movie night Saturday?"

Enzan regarded him unreadably for a moment. "I thought you were planning a Net Battle party on Sunday," he observed neutrally. Netto shrugged.

"Well, that too."

"Okay." Rockman blinked at Enzan's casual acceptance and Netto's answering beam, trying to decide whether there were undercurrents here or whether he was just imagining things.

"Cool." Netto waved in farewell as Enzan climbed into the car, watching it pull away for a moment before turning back to where their father was waiting. "Let's go home, Rockman."


	13. Chapter 13

Title: Infinite Gravity  
Part: 13/18  
Rating: T  
Characters/Pairings: Rockman & Blues, Netto & Enzan  
Notes: Set a good five years after canon. This is slightly AU in that I've played fast and loose with canon versions and background details - it's mostly based on the anime timeline, but there are some significant game and manga details in here too, as well as some made up stuff like new viruses and attacks. Please be warned that this fic contains shameless fanon cliches, because they are relevant to the plot. This chapter was written (and rewritten) to _Saikai ~Story~_ and _Boys Don't Cry_, which can be found at my kasoku LJ (link in profile). I swear the plot returns next week...

**Infinite Gravity**

**13.**

"Netto!" Apparently uncaring that she was blocking the doorway, Meiru planted her hands on her hips and glared at him. "The nerve of you, sending just an email when we were all worried sick about you and Rockman!"

Netto winced; that was a bit of a guilt trip. "We were stuck in debriefing meetings," he protested half-heartedly as Yaito-chan pushed Meiru aside, stomping into the room. He could hear Rockman getting an earful from Roll, too, which was cold comfort. "Sorry?" he ventured hopefully, relieved when the ire on Meiru's face faded a little and she relaxed, moving out of the doorway to let Dekao past.

"At least you've been doing your homework," she commented, shaking her head at the laptop and textbooks he'd left open on the coffee table. Netto laughed, embarrassed, and pushed his hair out of his eyes. He'd left his bandanna off so long while Rockman had been gone that he kept forgetting to dig out a clean one to put on.

"Yeah, well, we're hitting the Game Soul on Sunday, right? That was a _ton_ of homework, Meiru-chan, you didn't have to bring so much!"

"You missed a lot of school," Dekao pointed out as Meiru-chan glared at him again.

"Hey," Netto protested without heat. "I'd rather have been in school, you know?"

"Is Rockman all right?" Meiru asked anxiously, clutching at her PET. Netto grinned, lifting his off the table.

"He's fine. Right, Rockman?" He pressed the projector button, turning the coffee table into a miniature holo-display, and had the satisfaction of seeing the others' eyes widen.

"Yep." Rockman, surrounded by an equally wide-eyed Glyde, Gutsman and Roll, beamed out at him. "No harm done."

"While I am pleased to hear that," Glyde began ponderously, still looking about him with an air of curiosity, "I think we are all agreed that you and Netto-san are very lucky, Rockman." Netto saw Roll nod emphatically in agreement.

"Never mind that." Yaito stalked forward, eyes narrowed in calculation. "_That_ is an IPC X-Generation PET model. The prototype was only unveiled this past weekend. _How_ did you get one, Netto?"

Netto shrugged, deliberately downplaying it. "Birthday present from Enzan," he explained simply. It wasn't like it wasn't obvious, really; where else would he have got it?

Yaito sucked in a breath, shaking her head. "One-of-a-kind prototypes worth billions, and he gives them away. No wonder all the girls chase after him."

"He's got one too," Netto felt compelled to point out, hoping he wasn't blushing. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Enzan around a girl who wasn't Meiru or Yaito herself, which was just fine with him. "What's that supposed to mean, anyway?"

Meiru-chan covered her mouth with a hand, suppressing a giggle. "I bet all the high society girls at balls and things are after him, right Yaito-chan? Husband hunting!"

"Precisely." Yaito sniffed. "Ninnies, most of them. He could do a lot better, and he certainly avoids them like the plague."

"Heh, you sound like you want him for yourself, Yaito-chan," Dekao cracked, only to wither under her superior glare. Netto snickered, doing his best to squash, or at least ignore, the hot, tight uncomfortable feeling in his chest.

"Hardly. An alliance between Gabcom and IPC would create far too many waves." Yaito crossed her legs primly, smoothing her skirt. "He's not at all my type."

"Huh?" Netto frowned, poking experimentally at the uncomfortable feeling. "Don't you get a say in it?"

"Of course." Yaito-chan smiled smugly, tossing her head. "I wouldn't date anyone I wasn't interested in, but I have an _image_, you know."

"The rich do things differently," Meiru explained, eyes sparkling.

"I don't see why," Netto grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. This wasn't helping at all; he didn't want to think about Enzan marrying for status or dating film stars, and the idea that Enzan might have some kind of obligation to do so was a gnawing kind of irritant. Thankfully, Dekao changed the subject for him.

"This is way too girly! Netto, you still haven't told us what happened, anyway."

"Oh, right." Netto frowned, thinking it through and shifting sideways on the couch to sit cross-legged. How much should he tell? he pondered as all three stared expectantly at him. Most of the details were classified; he couldn't go around spilling everything to his friends, however much they'd helped in the past.

"I got kidnapped." Obligingly, Rockman helped out, rubbing the back of his head in obvious embarrassment as Roll gasped and Gutsman gaped.

"Who by, de gutsu?"

"We don't know yet." Netto shrugged as Rockman glanced at him. _It's the truth, after all, Nii-san._ "But the same person's done a bunch of other stuff recently – it's a pretty high-level case."

"Did they hurt you?" Roll piped up, eyes wide and round.

"I bet they tried to steal all your secrets, right?" Dekao pounded a fist into his palm, scowling mightily.

"More likely they wanted to make him one of them," Yaito corrected. The late afternoon sunlight streaming through the window glinted ominously off her forehead as she tossed her braids over her shoulders.

"Anyway," Rockman interrupted hastily, "Blues cracked the system so I could escape." For a moment, his smile went utterly goofy, his eyes dreamy and distant. Netto cleared his throat.

"Yeah, it was all okay in the end, and no one got killed or turned into a Darkloid or anything." _Rock-nii, you're kinda spacing out there..._

_Ah?_ Rockman started visibly, cheeks flushing pink as Netto swallowed a snicker.

"If that's your criteria for a successful mission," Meiru was saying indignantly, "it's no wonder you get hurt as often as you do!" She leaned forward to poke him in the chest, huffing. Netto just blinked innocently at her as Dekao grinned and Yaito rolled her eyes.

"Nah," he conceded eventually – Meiru-chan was threatening the Pout of Doom, no one could withstand that! "We were really lucky, I know." The thought of all that _could_ have happened was going to haunt him for a long time yet.

"Yeah," Rockman agreed quietly, offering Netto a silent mental reassurance. _Don't dwell on what never happened, Netto-kun. _"All our friends helped look for me. I'm really grateful to everyone."

"You're welcome, de gutsu."

"Uh-huh," Roll nodded, agreeing.

"Your absence was a great worry," Glyde said, which probably meant he agreed too. Netto grinned at Rockman, getting an answering smile back.

"Everyone's gonna be at the Game Soul Sunday, right?"

"You bet." Dekao shook a fist at him. "We'll take you down this time!"

"Tohru-kun too," Meiru-chan contributed before Netto could refute that. "We've been practising a new move."

"Glyde will referee," Yaito said primly, though the smirk gave her away. "Unless you start winning, that is."

"Hey!" Rockman protested, but he was laughing as Glyde looked distressed.

"Miss Yaito –"

"Do that and I'm tagging Enzan in," Netto warned, grinning at the distinctly alarmed look that crossed Dekao's face. Meiru-chan giggled, but the hint of a curious, speculative look in her eyes made Netto squirm a little. "Do you guys want to get dinner afterwards, or ice cream, or what?" he asked, mostly for something to say.

"Maha Ichiban!" Dekao voted instantly, but he was glared down by Yaito.

"You can't go somewhere _usual_ for a birthday. There's a perfect little Italian cafe a few blocks from the game centre, anyway."

"Ah, maybe Netto should decide," Meiru-chan intervened, turning to him. "It's his birthday, after all."

Netto made a face at her; now whatever he picked would be wrong.

"What about the cafe at the arts centre?" Rockman suggested tentatively, glancing between them. "They serve food, right?"

Netto brightened, sending silent thanks to his twin. "It does, and it's nearby, too. Cool, let's go there."

"If it's still sunny, we could sit out on the waterfront," Meiru-chan approved, which of course meant Dekao wouldn't dare complain. And the place was trendy enough for Yaito – and Enzan – without being super pricey.

"Good idea, Rockman," he agreed, satisfied. "It's a plan."

* * *

"Rockman-kun?"

It was a good thing he'd left the external audio feed on. Startled – he'd been playing with customisations for his new private homepage while Netto was taking a bath – Rockman logged back into his PET from the PC, activating the holo-screen. "What is it, Mama?"

"Does this belong to Netto-kun, or is it one of Papa's?" She held up a red-cased mini disk, eyes crinkling as she smiled at him. "I found it at the bottom of the laundry basket; it must have fallen from someone's pocket, hm?"

"Probably," Rockman agreed, peering at it. It was the same type that Netto often used for homework, but he usually picked out blue ones. "I'm not sure. Could you put it in the drive for me? I'll check."

"Thank you." His mother popped open the case carefully, inserting the disk into the PC. Hopping back over the connection, Rockman prodded it into loading so that he could scan the contents.

It was immediately obvious that the disk wasn't Netto's. It was full of what looked like stored news articles and scientific reports, divided into folders labelled 'Cybernetics' and 'DA' and 'Neural Networking', cross-referenced with a complicated-looking database. "I think this must be Papa's," Rockman decided, ejecting the disk. His mother snapped it neatly back into its jewel case.

"I'll put it on his desk, then. Thank you, Rockman-kun."

"It's nothing." Rockman frowned. "Did Papa go to the lab again?"

"Mm-hm." His mother sighed, smile gentling with a hint of fond exasperation. "He wants to catch the people who tried to take you away from Netto-kun, of course."

"Huh? Mama?" Netto wandered in in shorts with a towel draped over his head. "What did I do?" His eyes fell on the disk in Haruka's hand, and widened in shock. "Ah! I never gave that back to Umino-san! Where'd you find it , Mama?"

"Oh!" Recalling the dropped disk from Sci-Labs, Rockman examined his memory files, realising that this was indeed the same disk. With everything that had happened since, he'd not made the connection. "We should go give it back, Netto-kun."

"Yeah." Netto took the disk, abandoning towelling his hair to examine it.

"It was in the laundry basket." Their mother shook her head. "Be more careful with other people's things, Netto-kun!"

"Yes, Mama." Netto ducked his head, chastened.

"Good." She patted him on the shoulder. "Now go dry yourself properly, and get dressed. You can't go to the labs like that." Rockman covered his mouth, suppressing a giggle.

* * *

"Umino-san? Umino-san!" Netto peered over the reception desk as though the older girl might be hiding underneath it. The PC was on, but no one was home. "Does she even work Saturdays?"

"I'll check." Hopping into the Sci-Labs network, Rockman examined the personnel roster and signing in book. "She should be here today, Netto-kun. If you wait a bit, I'm sure she'll be back."

"I could just leave it..." Netto began in a hopeful voice. Rockman eyed him sternly, and he sighed, dropping his head. "Or not, I guess."

"At the very least, you should apologise for not giving it back sooner," Rockman lectured. "Why on earth did you keep it so long, anyway?"

"I forgot." Netto shrugged, flipping the red jewel case end over end in his fingers. "A lot of stuff's happened since then, you know."

"Ah, true." Netto could hardly be blamed for forgetting things this past week, Rockman supposed. "Why are you in such a hurry, anyway?" he asked, curious as to why Netto was shifting from foot to foot and glancing repeatedly at the clock.

"I wanna get down to the video store before all the good stuff's gone." Leaning one elbow against the reception counter, Netto blew upwards in an unsuccessful attempt to get his hair out of his eyes. "Plus if Papa finds us here, he'll want you to do more tests or something."

Rockman winced at the word, unable to quite help the reaction, and of course Netto caught it, eyes widening.

_Sorry, Nii-san._

_It's nothing._ "If Papa thinks we should run diagnostics..." Rockman began aloud, but Netto interrupted him, waving an impatient hand.

"We already did all the tests they've got yesterday! We already know you're okay, right?"

"I thought I was okay last time," Rockman reminded him, but he couldn't stop the smile. Netto-kun was so vehement.

"That was a trap," Netto argued stubbornly, making a face as Rockman smiled at him. "We could have taken them in a fair fight – that's probably why," he concluded darkly. Rockman cocked his head, curious.

"Do you really think that, Netto-kun?"

Netto sighed. "Not really," he admitted. "I don't like not knowing." He looked like he might have said more, but the sound of hurrying footsteps made them both look up as Umino-san came dashing across the lobby from the direction of the Programming department. She almost tripped over her feet on seeing them, and scurried hastily back behind her desk. Rockman sighed to himself, shaking his head at Netto's oblivious expression.

"There you are!" Netto exclaimed, almost making the poor girl fall off her chair. Rockman cleared his throat pointedly, and Netto ducked his head sheepishly. "Ah, I mean, hi Umino-san." He held out the disk. "This is yours, right? You dropped it in the hall the other week."

"Sorry it took us so long to return it," Rockman chipped in, startled when Umino-san went absolutely pale, snatching the disk from Netto's hands.

"I dropped..." she turned it over, reading the serial number, and went even paler. "Ah, th-thank you for returning it, N-netto-san. I'll give it back to – to its owner."

"So it's not yours anyway?" Netto blinked, then shrugged. "Whatever. See you, Umino-san. If you see my dad, tell him to come home for dinner, okay?"

"I w-will, Netto-san." Rockman, watching through the PET's external cameras, was the only one who saw her raise a hand as if to wave, and the way her eyes followed them all the way out of the building.

* * *

"Hi, Blues." Rockman looked up as Blues pixelated inside his PET, smiling so brightly that it made something in Blues' core ache.

"Hi." Blues returned the greeting with a nod and a tiny smile of his own, stepping up to stand beside Rockman at the viewing window. Enzan and Netto were arguing, as usual – over movies, this time – but Blues could see the half-smile on Enzan's face even as he disagreed with the other boy.

"Did I miss something while I was – gone?" Rockman asked softly, glancing curiously at Blues for a moment before indicating their two Operators with a nod of his head.

"I don't think so." Blues considered the matter, unable to point to any one incident but equally unable to deny that it seemed as though something had changed. He watched a moment longer, as the two of them finally settled on a film – one that they all had seen before. Turning back to Rockman, he opened his mouth to speak, surprised when the other beat him to it.

"Want to go check out Net City for a bit?" Rockman asked in a quiet, diffident voice that didn't disguise the fact that he wasn't meeting Blues' gaze. Suddenly incongruously nervous, and more than a little discomfited by the feeling, Blues nodded sharply, flashing into Netto's PC before Rockman could say anything further. From there, it was an easy matter to transfer across the wireless into the city network, jumping from router to router at the speed of thought.

"Hey!" Rockman protested from close behind him, speed whipping away most of his voice. "Wait for me!" There was laughter in his tone, and Blues turned mid-flight, smirking back at him.

"Catch me," he dared, watching Rockman's eyes go wide and shocked before narrowing in calculation. Knowing _that_ look, Blues put on a burst of speed, increasing the distance as he traversed the last router, transferring into the Net City server. Wind whipped his hair around him as he dropped to a landing on the top of a skyscraper, crouching immediately – Rockman's energy signature flaring like a comet on his trail – to spring into another top-speed leap.

"Blues!" Rockman was only fragments of a second behind him. Far below as he jumped, Blues caught glimpses of Navis staring and pointing at the tower-top game of tag, but what little of his concentration wasn't required to maintain his lead was wrapped up in the sense of Rockman at his back.

While he'd not had a specific destination in mind, the sight of the Silver Tower rising up before him in the centre of the city felt somehow as inevitable as destiny. Changing course slightly – and paying for it, as Rockman came close to catching him – Blues calculated angles, putting all his strength into a leap that crossed the gap of the city-centre park. Running vertically up the last few storeys to take the high ground, he vaulted easily onto the top tier of the roof – just as Rockman descended from the sky, having warped out and in above the tower.

"Draw," Rockman concluded smugly, tugging his helmet off and shaking out his hair. Astonished all over again by the sheer _daring_ of this, Blues shook his own head with a tentative smile.

"That was cheating."

"There were rules?" Rockman blinked wide, innocent eyes at him – he was too good at that, Blues thought – then spoiled it with a laugh. "That was fun, though – thank you, Blues."

"You've got faster," Blues observed neutrally, unsure how to answer that.

"Maybe so." Rockman sat down on the edge of a ledge, kicking his feet in empty space and turning his helmet over in his hands. "You know, while I was in that cage..." he trailed off, hunching his shoulders, and Blues gave in to the urge to step down to the next tier, putting them on a level. Rockman blinked at him, eyes wide and green and face flushed, then resumed hastily. "That is, while I was trapped, I wondered if we'd ever get to finish that match."

"Tomorrow," Blues promised quietly, turning to lean one hip against the ledge. He was looking forward to it, every moment of the last encounter engraved in his memory files.

"Yeah." Rockman kicked his legs, glancing sideways at him. Without the helmet, his hair fanned out around his face in an uneven halo. Blues found himself wondering, not for the first time, but with a startling urgency, what it would be like to meet his eyes with nothing at all between them.

"I realised, though." Rockman wrapped his arms around his helmet, staring out at the horizon. "It doesn't matter which of us comes out stronger, because that isn't the end." He tilted a smile at Blues, soft and so happy that Blues almost gasped, something in his core clenching tight.

"We'll always be chasing each other," Rockman concluded in a tentative, hopeful tone that Blues had never heard from him. "Won't we, Blues?" And it wasn't his imagination, he realised, that Rockman's voice hitched fractionally over his name.

"Mm." Blues bowed his head, conscious of the weight of Rockman's eyes on him as he lined up his misgivings against the aching core of emotion that refused to be silenced. He owed his life to Rockman, had fought back-to-back with him and trusted him with the weight of the world. Rockman, in his turn, had been willing to entrust his inactive and defenceless program to Blues' safekeeping. In the face of that, what was one more vulnerability, in the end?

Looking up with a resigned smile, Blues lifted a hand, offering something open-palmed. "Here – happy birthday, if a little belated." His voice came out low and thick with emotion, surprising him.

"Oh." Rockman shaped the word soundlessly, eyes wide and suddenly defenceless. His hand hovered over Blues' for a long moment, as he feared the gift would be withdrawn. When at last he lowered it to take the simple piece of data Blues had prepared for him, their fingers met for a moment. Blues swallowed a gasp, seeing Rockman's sudden shudder as a tingling, electric shock of contact shot through them both.

"A link?" Rockman blinked up at him, cheeks flushed an endearing shade of pink. Blues nodded, activating his own link as he held out his hand.

"Come with me?" he asked softly, seriously. Originally, he had planned another gift, but as always Rockman had a way of changing his plans.

For a long moment, Rockman regarded him uncertainly, eyes curious and shy, but at last he slipped down from the ledge, reaching out to put his hand in Blues'.

That shock of contact went through them again, but Blues was already activating the link, logging out with Rockman in tow and pixelating into his own secure, private homepage on Enzan's server.

"O-oh." Rockman blinked in startlement as he looked about him, taking in the neat, minimalist layout. His eyes were wide with awe as he examined the link still in his hand, and Blues could see him running through the encryption levels. "Blues – this is..." Rockman trailed off, shaking his head but not looking away.

Blues regarded him carefully for a moment, steeling himself against a ridiculous rush of uncertainty; he was all too aware that he was about to change everything. Then, ducking his head slowly, he reached up for his helmet.

* * *

Rockman couldn't help but gasp as Blues reached up, slowly tugging off his helmet. He'd never anticipated, barely _dreamed_ of this. The feel of Blues' hand in his was still burned into his nerves, confirming all the dry information his father had given him about data exchange modes and compatibility, and _Blues was taking off his helmet._

"Blues..." he breathed, staring helplessly. It was the eyes that caught him, a clear grey that seemed almost violet in the low light. Trapped in Blues' gaze, Rockman felt his core shake as he realised just why Blues insisted on the visor. His eyes were an open book, emotions passing quicksilver across them – Rockman counted fear, hope, understanding, need, feelings that mirrored his own. It must have shown in his face, because Blues nodded, slowly. The way his smile lit his eyes made Rockman gasp, and he tried his best to put every scrap of feeling into his own gaze, promising without words that this would stay where it had begun, between the two of them.

Reaching up slowly, Rockman traced the line of one fine brow, pushing aside the fall of silver hair as the now-expected frisson of contact shuddered both of them. Carefully, and for the first time in his life, he deliberately closed off his link to Netto, tying it into a tight, veiled knot at the back of his mind. Then, easing up onto his tiptoes, he closed the now-fractional gap between them, pressing his lips to Blues'.

For a brief, nervous moment, Rockman wondered whether he'd misread things, or moved too fast. Then, with a humming sigh, Blues' arms wrapped around him, pulling into a tight embrace, and Blues' hair fell around him like a curtain as he tilted his head, kissing Rockman back. It was clumsy, awkward and new, full of unspoken emotion and uncertainty. It was, Rockman thought distantly, most of his mind caught up in sensation and need as Blues pulled him closer still, perfect.

* * *

Even with the balcony doors open to let in the night air, it was warm and dark in Netto's room. Enzan settled into the couch with a silent sigh, only half of his attention on the movie that was playing – a rather dated film about a hacker conspiracy that they'd agreed on because it was amusing to see what people twenty-five years ago had thought of as cutting-edge technology. The rest of him was too aware of Netto's presence, curled at the other end of the couch with the discarded bowl of popcorn and a faint smile on his face as the light from the TV flickered across it. Even with a clear foot of space between them, Enzan could feel the warmth of Netto's body like a tingle along his nerves on that side.

"It's pretty cool, huh?" Netto waved a hand, gesturing without looking away from the screen. "That they could do that kind of stuff without Navis, back then."

"You think?" Enzan shifted, gaze caught by the light reflecting in Netto's eyes as he watched. "We're going to have to take one of this type of hacker on, sooner or later."

"The Sticky Chip'll help," Netto declared confidently, looking more than a little put out when Enzan laughed despite himself. "What?"

"Nothing." Enzan shook his head, smirking. "You need to give that thing a better name."

"Hey, it works." Netto grinned, a bright flash of teeth in the dimness. "Got any better ideas?"

Enzan considered. "Gravity Trap?" he suggested, reasonably enough he thought, but Netto made a face.

"Dull," he proclaimed, shifting so that he was sitting half-sideways and could see Enzan as well as the TV. Rather than protesting that, Enzan shrugged, turning his attention back to the admittedly rather sketchy plot of the movie. Almost inevitably, though, his eyes were drawn back to Netto, and this time he was caught at it; their eyes met, and Enzan found himself grateful for the near-darkness, as it hid the heat in his face. Netto was watching him, thoughtful and speculative, and Enzan winced internally.

"What?" he demanded, a little more shortly than he'd really meant to; the situation was starting to get to him. Netto merely shook his head, still watching Enzan with that quiet smile. Unnerved, Enzan attempted to concentrate on the film but gave it up as a lost cause when Netto spoke up, low-voiced.

"Hey, Enzan, did I ever say thanks? For the present," he elaborated as Enzan frowned, waving a hand in the direction of the PET on his desk.

"It was nothing." Absently, Enzan wondered what had become of Blues and Rockman; there had been silence from the systems for a while.

"Yeah, right," Netto protested, frowning. "Even for you, it's a lot of trouble. I'm grateful, you know?"

"You're welcome." Enzan looked away, uncomfortable with the turn of the conversation, but his eyes were drawn back to Netto like a compass needle to magnetic north.

"And, well." Netto shrugged, propelling himself up onto his feet to wander to the window and peer out. "I don't know what I'd have done without you, this week." It was barely audible; when Netto turned, Enzan could see his face dark with blush in the moonlight that fell through the open window. "So, thanks." Netto shrugged awkwardly, picking his way back to the couch. "The stars are out," he commented, as though this were something remarkable.

Enzan sighed. "Don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same. I know, remember?" Even at twelve, Netto had taken on the burden of being a shoulder for him when he'd lost Blues. They'd been following and chasing and supporting each other for so long. Rivals, friends – and, Enzan had concluded long ago, for his part, something more.

"Yeah." Netto smiled at him, bright and infectious. An aching knot of want dug into Enzan's stomach even as he smiled back. More than anything, he found he wanted to reach out and brush the untidy fall of hair back from those deep brown eyes.

Impulses that were easy to ignore in the light of day became near irresistible in this warm, close darkness. Sighing, Enzan clenched his hands into fists, cursing himself for an idiot. Why had he agreed to this?

As though he could read Enzan's mind as easily as his Navi's, Netto shifted subtly, expression sobering as he gazed unblinking at Enzan. Their eyes locked, and Enzan choked on air for a moment. Netto's eyes were luminous and knowing, and the knotted ache in Enzan's stomach became a lump in his throat. If ever there was a moment...

Abandoning restraint, he let his hands do what they would even as he cursed himself for an idiot, reaching out to stroke surprisingly soft hair back from Netto's forehead. Then he was leaning in, slowly, mesmerised by the quirk of Netto's sudden smile. Their lips met, Netto pressing hesitantly into the kiss, the taste of him salt-sweet and startling.

After a moment, Enzan pulled back, more than a little stunned. Netto laughed, low and shivery, and leaned their foreheads together, scooting forward almost into Enzan's lap.

"What took you so long?" he demanded on a breath of laughter, strong hands sliding around Enzan's shoulders to splay across his back as he brought their mouths together again. Enzan shifted into the caress, tugging Netto's lithe body closer, murmuring his name. This time, there was no hesitation in either of them.

The movie carried on playing to itself.


	14. Chapter 14

Title: Infinite Gravity  
Part: 14/18  
Rating: T  
Characters/Pairings: Rockman & Blues, Netto & Enzan  
Notes: Set a good five years after canon. This is slightly AU in that I've played fast and loose with canon versions and background details - it's mostly based on the anime timeline, but there are some significant game and manga details in here too, as well as some made up stuff like new viruses and attacks. Please be warned that this fic contains shameless fanon cliches, because they are relevant to the plot. Now that the fluffy stuff is mostly out of the way, it's time to get back to the plot...

**Infinite Gravity**

**14.**

"I guess we should go back." Rockman, head pillowed contentedly on Blues' shoulder, could not have felt less enthusiastic about the prospect, but duty called.

"Enzan-sama will call me if he needs me," Blues murmured in his ear, one hand stroking slowly up and down Rockman's spine. Rockman shivered happily, twining a long strand of Blues' hair around one finger.

"Mm, but someone has to get Netto-kun out of bed." His internal clock read eight-thirty, which was hard to believe – the night had felt like moments. Giving in to temptation, he wriggled up – which incidentally brought them into all kinds of interesting contact – to prop himself on Blues' chest so that he could look into his eyes.

Blues looked back at him, lips quirked in fond amusement. Rockman dipped his head to kiss him, soft and warm and shivery, then sighed and sat up. "Even if they haven't called..."

"They'll be wondering where we are," Blues concluded quietly, sitting up himself and reaching for his helmet. Rockman couldn't help a heavier sigh, watching the too-familiar visor cover those wonderful eyes, but he too was preparing reluctantly for logout, cramming his helmet onto his head. Turning, about to offer a temporary farewell, he was startled when Blues reached for him, pulling him into a heated kiss.

After a long, toe-curling moment, Blues stepped back, Rockman's arms sliding reluctantly from around his neck. At least, Rockman thought a little dizzily as he blinked up at his – lover? Boyfriend? It didn't seem right; Blues was Blues – at least the visor didn't hide the emotions that shone through every touch.

"Let's go," Blues said softly. Rockman nodded slowly, holding up a tentative hand in farewell as he logged reluctantly out of the system and back into the PET. Blues' link was stored securely in his private library, and he reminded himself absently to create one for his own homepage, to return the gift. They'd see each other later, after all.

His internal clock ticked over to eight-forty: definitely time to wake Netto-kun. Left to his own devices, he'd sleep the day away without getting anything done. Taking a moment to sort through and lock up tight the night's precious memories, Rockman activated the PET's screen and external cameras, preparing for the usual repeated alarm calls and resentful grumbling. What he saw made him freeze, eyes widening with shock. While the carelessly discarded clothing was entirely commonplace, Enzan's red jacket – draped across one arm of the couch – was all too recognisable. It was clear by the tangle of sheets and limbs, a flash of white hair visible against Netto's tanned shoulder even in the curtained darkness, that Netto was far from alone.

Rockman gaped, astonishment beginning to sour into disbelief and a dawning dread. There was a sigh from the direction of the bed, and one of them turned over, an arm draping almost to the floor as someone laughed sleepily. Face on fire and panic clawing at his core, Rockman fled into the PC, muting the audio and throwing up a screensaver to preserve his Operator's privacy.

His Operator. Netto-kun. Rockman paced the panels of the system. What had he _done_?

Predictably, it wasn't long before Blues transferred in to join him, an expression of knowing amusement on his face that fell away almost at once as he saw Rockman.

"What is it?" he asked, low and concerned. Rockman stopped pacing, turning worried eyes on Blues. Biting his lip, he wrapped his arms miserably around himself, not daring to burrow into Blues' arms, however much he wanted it.

"I – I thought I was being careful, but – Netto-kun – I must have influenced him anyway..." What was he going to think, when he woke up and worked out what had happened? What would _Enzan_ think? This could ruin their friendship. Agitated, a thick roil of guilt settling in his middle, he began pacing again, feet striking sharp discordant chimes from the panels, until Blues caught him, reeling him in close.

"Calm down." It was close to an order, but his voice was gentle. Rockman leaned into Blues' strength, squeezing his eyes shut and fisting his hands against Blues' back as he nodded reluctantly. "Good," Blues murmured close to his ear. "Now, explain."

Rockman cringed, then sighed. "I think I must have influenced Netto-kun through the link," he muttered reluctantly. "I tried the best I could to close it off, but it can't have been effective..."

"You're thinking too hard," Blues surprised him by saying, easing back a little to look Rockman in the face. Rockman blinked at him, surprised.

"Huh?"

"You said yesterday that something had changed between Enzan-sama and Netto-san," Blues reminded him quietly. "Something was bound to happen at some point."

Rockman shook his head, gnawing on his lip. "But – what if Netto-kun wasn't ready? What if he freaks out and I've spoiled everything?"

"Why are you assuming it's your fault?" Blues countered, hands running soothingly up and down Rockman's sides. "Or that it's a bad thing? It's far more likely that all they needed was some privacy."

"Mm." Unconvinced, Rockman leant into the caress, resting his head on Blues' shoulder. "Maybe." Netto had always seemed so – well, so cheerfully _oblivious_ to that sort of thing, notwithstanding that awkward couple of weeks with Meiru-chan. Rockman buried his face in Blues' shoulder, miserably aware that he was going to have to talk to Netto about this – and it could only be excruciating for both of them.

* * *

Clinging hopefully to the vestiges of sleep despite the light slanting through the curtains and the sound of his mother moving about downstairs, Netto was finally and irreversibly awoken when Enzan extracted himself from the tangle of limbs they'd fallen asleep in, sitting up.

"Hey," he protested sleepily – he'd been comfortable – flopping over onto his back and almost out of the bed, which wasn't exactly built for two. "Ack!" Netto flailed, and Enzan reached out hastily to grab his arm, yanking him upright. This left them all but nose to nose, and Netto blushed furiously, stomach turning over as he met Enzan's half-amused, half-uncertain, _very_ blue eyes. Then he snickered, despite himself, because Enzan's usually neat hair was a disordered mess, squashed flat on one side and sticking every which way on the other. Choking back outright laughter as Enzan frowned, Netto reached up, combing his fingers through Enzan's hair in an attempt to re-order it. Enzan's eyes went wide, then creased with amusement.

"That bad?" he asked, voice low and with a sort of _thoughtful_ undertone that set Netto's stomach doing flip-flops.

"Uh-huh." Netto grinned, because it really was that bad; Enzan's mouth quirked with a faint half-smile, but he didn't reply, and the silence stretched out between them. Increasingly aware of just how close they were – and that neither of them was in anything more than boxers – Netto could feel his face heating until he was sure he must be the colour of a tomato. Just as he reached snapping point, Enzan sighed, breaking the moment, and shifted past Netto to climb out of bed.

"I have to go. I have a meeting at ten-thirty," he explained as Netto involuntarily made to reach for him.

"Oh." Absorbing that, Netto flopped back into the sheets as Enzan began collecting his clothed. "Man, who has meetings on a Sunday?" he grumbled, rolling out of bed and stretching with a yawn, smirking inwardly at the way Enzan's eyes followed the movement.

"I can't get out of this one," Enzan returned, in a tone that suggested he'd like to. "It's my father."

"Oh." Netto winced as Enzan headed out to the bathroom; he didn't know all the details, but the bits and pieces that Enzan had let slip over the years were enough to give him an idea. Added to what Yaito-chan had said about expectations – no, Netto decided, he didn't like that at all.

Flopping down on the couch, Netto stared thoughtfully at the ceiling. Things had better not stay this awkward, because he definitely wanted to kiss Enzan again. And more than kissing – for a moment he entertained a brief fantasy of invading the shower and pressing Enzan up against the tiles...

Ah, bad thoughts, bad thoughts! Netto shook his head vigorously, jumping up to hunt down his clothes. It wasn't even as if anything had really _happened_ last night, apart from a whole lot of kissing – he was pretty sure they'd fallen asleep on the couch, and he could vaguely recall stumbling to bed in the dark, half-asleep, but he didn't remember losing his clothes. And besides, his mother was downstairs! And Rockman – oh. Netto's eyes widened as he realised that the faint, distant sense of barely-contained panic was coming from his twin. Frowning, he concentrated on the link – Rockman was definitely freaking out, although he was making an effort to hide it. Netto didn't have to guess why, either.

Heart in his throat – what if Rockman didn't understand? - Netto opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment Enzan slipped back into the room, once again as neat and buttoned-up as ever.

"Hi," Netto said, lamely, as they stood blinking at each other. He'd got as far as putting pants on, at least, he thought vaguely as Enzan crossed to the desk, retrieving his PET. Absently, to have something to do, he picked up the bandanna he'd dug out, raking his hair back and tying it into place with practised movements. It meant he had no defence when Enzan smiled at him _that_ way, hands closing around Netto's sides and tugging him in for an intense kiss.

"Mmph!" Startled, Netto froze for a moment, then mentally shrugged and wrapped his arms around Enzan's disappointingly clothed shoulders, kissing back enthusiastically. What had been amazing last night was just as amazing in the light of day; Netto grumbled a protest as Enzan pulled back with a breathless, barely audible laugh.

"Meet me for lunch?" he asked, the words a warm shiver against Netto's ear.

"Sure," Netto agreed almost instantly, squirming in disappointment as Enzan let him go. "Where?"

"Same place as last time?" Enzan visibly wavered, and Netto would have reached out to reel him in, but he set his shoulders, moving toward the door.

"Okay." Netto beamed as Enzan smiled back at him – that soft, fond expressions that, he'd realised last night, really was only for him. "Same time?"

"Mm." One more long look, and Enzan was gone, his footsteps quiet on the stairs though Netto could have told him not to bother; his mother no doubt had long since headed out to her usual coffee morning. Crossing to the window, Netto pulled back the curtains, letting the bright morning sunlight into the room as he watched Enzan walk down the street toward the subway, PET in hand as he spoke to Blues.

Wandering over to his desk to grab his own PET, Netto bit his lip; without the distraction of Enzan's presence, it was more obvious than ever that Rockman was freaking out. Flopping onto the couch, he pressed the recall button, quirking a half-worried, half-embarrassed grin as Rockman pixelated into the screen.

"Hey, Nii-san."

"Netto-kun." They regarded one another uncertainly for a moment before Rockman's face creased unhappily and he all but wailed, "I'm sorry, Netto-kun!"

"Huh?" Netto blinked, not really having expected that. "Rockman, what...?"

"I..." Rockman looked down at his hands, a distressed expression on his face that mirrored the feelings Netto could faintly read from him. "I think I might have – influenced you. Maybe. I didn't mean to, Netto-kun!"

Netto blinked, trying to make sense of that and failing to come up with much. Rockman must be talking about the link, but... "Influenced me how? I mean, what?" he corrected himself, attempting to project calm and soothing... ness to his Navi. It came out a bit haphazard, but he'd never been great at calm.

"Um." Rockman, to Netto's astonishment, blushed bright red, hunching in on himself and poking his fingers together. "Y-you and – and Enzan-kun." He hung his head, avoiding Netto's eyes, and Netto blushed a little himself, as he tried to puzzle through Rockman's words. Influenced...

* * *

Sneaking a furtive peek up at Netto from beneath the shadow of his helmet, Rockman saw the exact moment when understanding dawned. Netto's eyes went wide and his cheeks red, and Rockman wished for a hole to open up and swallow him.

"Nii-san, you –" Netto choked, opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish. _That's not possible!_

"How do you know?" Rockman asked miserably, speaking aloud rather than risk transmitting – or receiving! – things that should be kept private. Netto spluttered some more, burying his face in his tucked-up knees. The tips of his ears were every bit as red as the crest on his bandanna.

"Because he kissed me first, okay?" Netto muttered in an awkward, muffled voice, the hideous embarrassment of the moment reverberating between them

"...oh." Rockman blinked, absorbing that slowly, but Netto was on a roll.

"And don't you dare say it's your fault because I've been waiting _forever_ for him to do something, and..." he deflated abruptly, frowning, and Rockman had a sudden sinking feeling.

"Hey, Rockman." Netto was giving him a thoughtful look, wheels visibly turning. Holes in the ground really never turned up when you needed them. "Why would you think something stupid like that, anyway?" Netto asked, eyes narrowing in clear calculation as he watched Rockman squirm. "What were _you_ doing last night, Nii-san?"

"Um." Rockman choked; his face felt on fire. "P-playing tag with Blues?"

"Ooh." Netto's face creased into a pleased, knowing grin. "Did you catch him?"

"Uh-huh." Despite himself, despite his tomato blush and squirming embarrassment, Rockman couldn't help but smile a little in memory. Netto, being Netto, caught it and laughed in delight, punching the air.

"Woohoo! Finally!"

"Netto-kun!" Rockman protested, but he couldn't keep from laughing too, relief washing away the panicked dread that had been smothering the warm happiness in his core.

"You guys were dancing around each other forever," Netto exclaimed with a grin as Rockman stuck his tongue out at him.

"We were _not_. You and Enzan-kun were, though," he pointed out teasingly, enjoying Netto's blush.

"No way!" Netto sighed, swiping a hand through his hair as Rockman put his hands on his hips, raising his eyebrows. Blues, as Rockman had just _known_ he would, had the trick of lifting just one; Rockman had never been able to manage it.

"Okay, maybe," Netto admitted with a serene and sunny grin, wriggling comfortably into the couch. Rockman stepped forward to place one hand on his side of the viewing window, smiling in answer. "It's cool, though," Netto continued quietly. "I guess we both we got what we wanted, right Nii-san?"

"Mm." Rockman closed his eyes, feeling again the phantom strength of Blues' arms around him. "You still scared me out of my skin, though, Netto-kun," he pointed out, making a minor effort to bring himself out of daydreams and into the here and now.

"I don't see why." Netto made a face at him, still a little pink along the cheekbones but a lot more relaxed than he had been. "I can tell the difference between you and me, Rock-nii. And it's not like kissing Enzan's gonna be the end of the world or something."

"Yes, but..." Rockman paused as the implications of that sank home. "Wait, only kissing?"

Netto gaped indignantly, cheeks flushing, then dumped the PET onto the couch cushions, folding his arms defensively across his chest. "Yes! Just what are you thinking, Nii-san?!"

"Um." Rockman winced, face heating back to incandescence. "N-never mind, Netto-kun..."

"Hmph." Netto looked away, but after a moment he unbent enough to pick the PET back up. "I guess it did look kind of..." he trailed off, and Rockman watched nervously as his eyes widened almost comically as he took his own turn to realise the implications. "Wait. Nii-san, does that mean...?"

"Um." Unable to meet Netto's eyes, let alone formulate a coherent answer, Rockman developed an intense interest in the pixels at the corner of the viewing window. His silence was evidently all the answer that Netto needed to jump to – well, probably the entirely correct conclusion, really.

"Nii-san!"

* * *

Despite his best efforts, as Enzan checked and updated various schedules on his way to the subway, Blues wasn't quite able to keep his inner smile from resurfacing every time he repressed it. Not even Rockman's sudden panic attack had tarnished the quiet warmth of _contentment_ that he felt – Blues was well aware that Navis and humans thought and felt very differently, and unique and special as Rockman might be, not even he could overcome that basic divide between data and flesh. It had been equally plain, however, that this was a reassurance that only Netto-san could give.

"You're smiling," Enzan pointed out in a slightly suspicious, slightly defensive tone. Shaking himself firmly out of memory, Blues smoothed his face obediently to perfect blankness.

"So are you, Enzan-sama," he pointed out quietly as his Operator ducked into the entrance to the subway. This early on a Sunday, there were few people about; Blues checked the public bulletins with a thought, finding good service reported across the whole network.

"I am?" Visibly startled, Enzan made an obvious effort to put on a straight face as he waved his pass over the scanner. It quickly cracked, his happiness showing plainly at the corners of his eyes and mouth.

"The next train is in five minutes," Blues reported dutifully as Enzan paused before the timetable screen. "I'm – glad to see you happy," he offered quietly as Enzan took the escalator down to the platform.

Enzan flushed, but his voice was light and unconcerned as he passed a young woman with children in tow. "Save that for _after_ this meeting – then I'll be impressed."

"Yes, Enzan-sama." Blues smirked – just the fact that Enzan had been flippant about a meeting with the President was enough to prove his point.

They had a carriage almost to themselves, the only other passenger a girl a little older than Enzan who was speaking quietly into a cell phone.

"I take it you approve, then," Enzan said softly once the train was moving, the noise of the tracks all but drowning out his voice.

Mulling that over, Blues chose his words with care. "Netto-san has been... good for you, Enzan-sama," he acknowledged in an equally soft tone, adding, in as close to an admission as he would get, "It would also be... hypocritical of me to disapprove."

"Hypocritical?" Enzan blinked, eyes sharpening as he put together the implications with his usual rapidity. "Ah..." He regarded Blues thoughtfully, brows raised with a smile lurking in the corners of his mouth. "You too, then?"

"Apparently so," was all Blues felt the need to say to that.

"Good." Enzan nodded firmly, his face taking on a thoughtful cast as he leant back in his seat. "I think you're right; they've been good for both of us."

Blues raised an invisible eyebrow at that revision, but said nothing. He was already aware that Enzan-sama was correct; objectively speaking, years of exposure to the Rockman effect had altered him, subtly but immutably. Looking back, Blues found that he was glad of it – grateful, even. As for Enzan-sama – well, Blues no longer worried that he would grow into a younger version of the President.

"Have you considered how you'll handle this meeting?" he asked after a moment.

"Endlessly." Enzan closed his eyes with a brief sigh. "He's still not happy about last week. I'd almost expected him to cancel."

"You couldn't have been expected to ignore a Category One emergency, Enzan-sama," Blues pointed out. "I wouldn't have let you." For duty's sake, for Rockman's, for their own; they'd vowed long ago to be the best they could be and meet every challenge.

Enzan cracked a smile, slitting one eye open in a sliver of bright amused blue. "Don't let him hear you say that, Blues."

"Of course not, Enzan-sama."

* * *

"Netto-kun, slow down! You've got plenty of time," Rockman called over the rush of wind in his ears, voice floating up from the PET. Chastened, Netto skidded into a stop, kicking off his skates and hooking them onto his backpack.

"I know that, it's just..." He shook his head, taking off determinedly down the outdoor mall. The weird, squirmy feeling in his stomach wouldn't let him be still, and his mind kept reminding him that yesterday had been one thing, but there was no way this could be called anything but a date. "I wanted to check out Higure-san's store and the Game Soul," he settled lamely, already firmly headed in the direction of the former. "Book a spot, you know?" If he acted like it was any other Sunday, it made the whole thing feel less momentous.

"I can do that, Netto-kun," Rockman pointed out, and Netto heard the soft ping of transmission as he zipped out to do just that. Seconds later there was another ping as he returned. "Done."

"Cool, thanks Rockman." Netto slowed his steps a little, wandering towards the chip store. It was barely eleven-thirty – ages yet. "Hey, you think we can afford any new chips?"

"Maybe." Rockman paused for a moment, either accessing their bank account or their chip library. "Nothing S-class, though, Netto-kun."

"Huh." Netto pondered this. "Well, if Higure-san had anything really cool we'd have heard about it already, he can't keep his mouth shut." He'd brought along a pretty good selection, but any opportunity to gain an advantage over Enzan had to be used ruthlessly. "Guess I'll stop in anyway..."

"You're procrastinating, Netto-kun," Rockman pointed out in a soft, patient tone. Netto bridled indignantly.

"Am not. You said yourself there's loads of time, right?"

"Right," Rockman agreed, with evident amusement. Netto made a face, then winced as an old woman with a shopping trolley gave him a suspicious look.

_It's just weird, Nii-san,_ he explained silently, taking the side avenue that led off towards Higure-san's. _I don't know how I should act now, you know?_

_Why should you act any differently?_ Rockman replied, genuine curiosity in his mental 'voice'. _You're still Netto-kun and Enzan-kun, and you were friends first, right? Nothing has to change unless you want it to._

_I guess._ Netto sighed, stopping outside the store. Rockman was right, but it didn't feel very comforting. How was he supposed to treat Enzan in public – let alone in front of his other friends – when mostly what he _wanted_ was to kiss him again?

"Ah, Netto-kun!" It was more of a hoarse whisper than a shout, and Netto blinked in astonishment as Higure-san poked his head around the shop door, looking around furtively before beckoning Netto inside. "Quickly, quickly!"

"Huh?" Netto did as told, scooting inside the store. "What's going on?" he asked, intrigued – everything looked perfectly normal, as far as he could see.

_Everything's quiet here too,_ Rockman contributed, having jumped into the shop's cyber-systems. _I can't see Numberman or Aquaman around, though._

"Shh!" Higure-san hissed, making elaborate gestures that communicated nothing at all and looking as though he was trying to watch both the front and back doors at once. It made him look more than a little silly, and Netto smothered a laugh.

"Okay, okay, what is it?" he hissed back in a half-hearted whisper, finding _himself_ looking around for listeners. This conspiracy stuff was catching.

"There's a suspicious person out back, demasu," Higure-san whispered, still making his elaborate, nonsensical gestures. "I was just about to call the Net Police when you came along!"

"Suspicious person?" Netto echoed, immediately on the alert. "...wait, why the _Net_ Police, then?"

"You'll see." Higure-san looked around nervously again, then flipped the sign on the front door to Closed and beckoned Netto through the Staff Only door into the back room. "Shuuko-san is watching..."

In actuality, Netto saw, Shuuko-san was slumped on the floor with the back of her hand pressed to her forehead in one of her favourite Dramatic Poses. She sighed tremulously as they crept into the room, and Higure-san ushered Netto to the back window, which was mostly covered with a piece of cardboard and a grimy curtain.

Thoroughly used to Shuuko-san's foibles, Netto ignored her, twitching the curtain carefully aside to peer out of the window. He wasn't surprised that Higure-san had blocked it up; the narrow alleyway behind the building was dark and dirty and not something anyone would want to look at. It was also empty.

Frowning, Netto turned back to Higure-san, pointing this out. "There's no one there, Higure-san."

"Ah?" Higure-san stepped up to the window, all but plastering his face to it as he peered out. "Ah! He's gone, demasu."

"Gone!" Shuuko-san moaned theatrically, pressing her hands to her chest. "Leaving us to pay the increased bulk trash rates, and become yet more impoverished as a result... Oh, how will I feed my poor little brothers?"

"Your brothers both work at the grocery store," Netto pointed out, because it was true. "Higure-san, what's going on?"

"Someone was sneaking around putting stuff in our trash, demasu," Higure-san explained, going to the back door and shuffling through his keys until he found one to open it. "It looked like a bunch of old computers. Shuuko-san's right," he added as Netto eyed him sceptically. "Equipment recycling rates are very expensive."

"Huh." Peering out into the alley, Netto wrinkled his nose at the smell of garbage. "Where...?"

"Here." Higure-san trotted down the rusting metal steps, pointing out a garbage heap that had decidedly overspilled its bins. "Collection day is tomorrow – I'll have to pay double, for this junk..."

"I get it." Making a face at the stench, Netto clattered down after him to examine the small heap of cables and old-fashioned-looking CPU towers that had been shoved between two boxes of more ordinary rubbish. Something glinted in the dim light, and he shifted to get a better look, identifying it after a moment as the maker's guarantee sticker on one of the cases.

"Hey, Rockman..." Frowning, eyes narrowed in thought, Netto pulled out his PET, angling it so that the Navi could get a good look at the dumped equipment. "Isn't that an AT-5 subsystem?"

"It..." Rockman gasped, making the connection. "Netto-kun!"

"Yep." Netto grinned, anticipation flooding through him. He _owed_ these bastards, after what they'd done to Rockman. "Call Papa and Meijin-san. Higure-san, don't – whoa!" The sudden stuttering road or an engine from the end of the alleyway startled him enough that he almost toppled into the trash heap. Clutching the metal stair rail for balance – jagged rusty edges digging painfully into his palm – Netto twisted to see a van shoot out of a blind turning fifty metres away and career off down the alley at a reckless speed.

"Netto-kun, that could be them!" Rockman called; Netto nodded firmly, shoving his PET back into its holster and grabbing his skates.

"It's gotta be!" The van was just a shadow among shadows, but if he could just catch up enough, he could get its registration number, and then Rockman could track it through the traffic systems. "Let's go!"

It was easiest to build up speed by sticking to the middle of the alley, but he still had to avoid the occasional stray piece of trash or patch of mud. Netto swore to himself as the van took a corner, and put on an extra burst of speed, almost careening into the brickwork as he followed it. He was a couple of hundred yards behind, and gaining – it was hard to drive fast in the dark maze of alleyways between shops and factories and warehouses. The van took another turn, and Netto skidded around after it , pulling out his PET – it would be too easy to lose it.

"Rockman, where's he going?" he called over the rushing of wind in his ears. Rockman responded by bringing a map up on the screen, pointing to their location.

"Thanks!" With some consternation, Netto realised that they were rapidly reaching the edge of the shopping district, where it spread out into retail parks and big lots. Long straight roads, where skates weren't going to get him far against any kind of vehicle. "Crap, we're gonna lose him!"

The van – it was a pale blue colour, its windows tinted – took one final turn, speeding between two crumbling brick factories and under a road bridge, and even at his distance Netto could hear it gunning its engine, accelerating rapidly. Ignoring the red lights at the crossroad and the violent honking of traffic that had to swerve to a halt – "Netto-kun!" Rockman all but shrieked – Netto did his best to keep up, knowing it wasn't going to be enough.

_Rockman, can you get a reading on its registration?_ Hopefully, he held the PET out in front of him, the ground rolling by beneath his long, even strides. His breath was coming fast, his heart pounding with the effort of maintaining this speed, and still the van was extending the distance, getting away.

_Sorry, Netto-kun._ Rockman's mental 'voice' was small and apologetic. _It's too far, and not steady enough._

"Crap," Netto concluded glumly, thoroughly out of breath as the van took a distant corner. A glance at the map showed that it had any number of possible escape routes after that, and Netto slowed, stopping at the corner to brace himself against a sign post, panting for breath. As predicted, the van was nowhere in sight.

"Damn." Annoyed, he thumped a fist into the unyielding post. "We were so close!"

"Don't worry, Netto-kun," Rockman contributed quietly. "I'm sure the Commissioner can get the camera feeds examined – we'll find them."

"Yeah." Cheered by this possibility, Netto grinned down at his Navi, starting back towards town at a more sensible pace. "At least it's something, right?"

"Right. And maybe Papa can get something out of those computers," Rockman pointed out. "Ah – shouldn't you hurry, though?"

"Huh?" Pausing under the bridge to wait for the lights to turn, Netto blinked at the clock that Rockman had helpfully highlighted for him. "Shit! I'm gonna be late!"

"Netto-kun, language!" Rockman reprimanded as Netto hopped impatiently from foot to foot, eyes on the lights. Enzan would understand, once Netto explained, but right now he'd have that _look_ on his face, unimpressed and disappointed.

"Finally!" The lights blinked from red to green, traffic halting, and Netto kicked off the pavement with every intention of taking the quickest way through the supermarket car park, rules be damned. Later, he would realise that it was a sound from above him that had alerted him to the danger. Glancing up as he emerged from the shadows into the sunlight, a flash of something bright above him caught his attention. Instinct took over – or was it Rockman, screaming in his head as his limbs seemed to move without his permission? – and Netto flung himself to one side as something plummeted from above, exploding in a spray of green. Then there was a sharp pain at the back of his head as he smacked into something solid, and everything went dim.


	15. Chapter 15

Title: Infinite Gravity  
Part: 15/18  
Rating: T  
Characters/Pairings: Rockman & Blues, Netto & Enzan  
Notes: Set a good five years after canon. This is slightly AU in that I've played fast and loose with canon versions and background details - it's mostly based on the anime timeline, but there are some significant game and manga details in here too, as well as some made up stuff like new viruses and attacks. Please be warned that this fic contains shameless fanon cliches, because they are relevant to the plot. Thanks for all your reviews and comments; suddenly it seems like the end is fast approaching...

**Infinite Gravity**

**15.**

Ninety minutes of enduring his father's pointed questions and veiled criticisms had been bad enough. After almost an hour waiting for Netto to show, Enzan's mood had deteriorated badly. As much as he tried to tell himself that Netto wouldn't do this, that something must have come up, he couldn't deny the uncomfortable ache in his chest or the whispered suggestion that Netto had changed his mind, backed out of this... whatever they had.

"Enzan-sama," Blues prompted quietly as the clock on the wall ticked over to one-thirty.

"Yes," Enzan snapped, irritated, as a nervous-looking waitress came to take his long-since-empty coffee cup. Almost immediately he winced; this must be just as bad for Blues. Rockman hadn't responded to his messages, and it showed in the tight line of his mouth. "Sorry," Enzan muttered, shoving his chair back reluctantly. "Settle the bill, please." He wasn't sure where to go, only that there was no sense in waiting here.

"Yes, Enzan-sama," Blues acknowledged smoothly. Enzan nodded in quiet thanks, frowning as he left the café. He could go to the Game Soul, wait for Netto to show up there – and risk embarrassing them both in front of everyone. Or he could give this up for a lost cause and return home, which felt like admitting defeat. He didn't _want_ to let this go, but it was hard to read anything but a brush-off into Netto's extended absence.

"Enzan-sama, I'm sure it's not personal," Blues murmured just loudly enough for him to hear as he walked slowly down the shopping plaza to the steps. "Something must have happened."

"Mm." Enzan was well aware that he was right – Netto wasn't cruel, or thoughtless, and this wasn't like him. It was stupid to feel hurt, but after an already dispiriting meeting, it was difficult to get over the immediate reaction. It mixed with the nagging sense of worry, and Enzan let his feet carry him in the direction of HQ, conceding to Blues' concern.

"Ah, Enzan-kun!" Enzan blinked in startlement as his name was called; he'd been passing the chip store without much thought, and Higure-san and Meijin – what was he doing there? - were gesturing him over. It wasn't just Meijin, Enzan realised as he got closer; there were Net Police inside the store, moving equipment about under Manabe-san's supervision.

"What's happening?" Enzan demanded as he joined the older men; they both looked concerned, but there was a glint to Meijin's goggles that suggested this wasn't all bad news.

"You haven't heard, demasu?" Higure-san asked – he was wringing his handkerchief and looking worriedly at the police officers in his store.

"Heard what?" Enzan wasn't inclined to make small talk; either they needed him here or they didn't.

"We have new evidence in the case." Meijin adjusted his goggles, coughing. "However, Netto-kun has been attacked."

"What?" It was like cold water poured down his back, a chill spreading through him. "How badly? Where is he?" he demanded, clenching his fists as a sick feeling spread in the wake of the chill.

"In the hospital –" That was all Enzan needed to hear; he took off running in the direction of the nearest taxi rank, jaw set grimly. "He'll be fine!" Meijin called after him, which was cold comfort.

The taxi driver was patently taken aback when he wrenched the door open and demanded to be taken to the hospital, but after reassuring himself that Enzan wasn't bleeding or about to throw up in his taxi, he did at least pull out onto the road. Sitting ramrod-stiff in the back seat, Enzan was too well trained by years of dull meetings to fidget, but couldn't keep from clenching his teeth hard enough that his jaw began to ache. Blues had been right that something had happened, but guilt and worry were just as infuriating as rejection. How did Netto always manage to upset his equilibrium like this?

"Enzan-sama," Blues distracted his attention as they joined the traffic on the freeway, the medical centre a growing blob in the distance. "I've checked with the hospital. Netto-san has been put under observation for 24 hours, but no further treatment is scheduled."

"Thanks, Blues." Enzan sighed silently, relaxing a little. No further treatment meant that Meijin had been right; whatever had happened hadn't been serious. He was still going to smack the idiot for making him worry, and for standing him up. Stewing on that, Enzan frowned, staring out of the window as the taxi driver took an exit, weaving through Sunday afternoon traffic. He would, he knew, have been able to let this go if not for his father's less than subtle hints about choices. To then have the one thing that he'd chosen for _him_ seemingly wither in front of him – it had been too much. Fleetingly, Enzan mourned the destruction of the afternoon's plans; a serious, challenging Net Battle would have gone a long way towards dispelling his frustration with the world in general.

Swiping his PET over the charge pad as the driver pulled up outside the hospital, Enzan climbed out before he'd even put the taxi in park, striding purposefully towards the doors.

"Room C15," Blues reported dutifully as Enzan crossed the Reception area without a glance for the desk.

"Ah, sir!" One of the receptionists got to her feet, stretching out a dismayed hand as if to stop him. "Visiting hours are over –!"

In answer, Enzan simply flipped the PET screen on, lifting it to display the Net Saviours badge over his shoulder. It wasn't strictly proper to use his privileges in this way, but he was in no mood to argue over it at this point.

"Second left," Blues told him as he exited the elevator on floor C. Enzan, wondering whether he'd imagined the edge of tension in his voice, lifted the PET to examine his Navi. Blues stared back at him impassively, the visor betraying nothing, but Enzan could read matching tension in the set of his shoulders. He sympathised entirely. Nodding silently in acknowledgement, he took the turn as indicated, and found the door marked C15. 'Hikari Netto' was written on the board, though in hiragana rather than the full kanji.

Taking a deep breath of faintly antiseptic air, Enzan narrowed his eyes and shoved the door open. Netto was sitting on the bed in a hospital gown with the sheets pulled up to his waist and a thoroughly frustrated expression on his face. It vanished as he saw Enzan, and he looked stricken.

"Enzan! I'm sorry! They took Rock offline to decontaminate him – the PET, I mean – and they wouldn't give me a phone or anything!"

One look at that wide-eyed, apologetic expression, and all the irritation seemed to drain away like water. Enzan sighed, shaking his head, and even managed a fond smile as he shut the door behind him, a lot quieter than he'd opened it. "Idiot," he accused, without much heat.

It was left to Blues to bring up the obvious. "Decontamination?" Enzan winced at the obvious tightness in his voice, setting the PET carefully down on the side table next to the stack of charts. Apparently Netto's medical records were extensive.

"Yeah, can you believe it?" Netto demanded, puffing up with obvious ire at the thought. "The bastards we were chasing dumped some stuff off the overpass onto us. They don't know what it is apart from being green and smelling really gross, so they took all my stuff and shoved me through about three billion showers, and I have to stay till tomorrow." He scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. "Papa says Rockman'll be fine, but it's _weird_ having him offline."

"Your father's dealing with it?" Enzan asked, shooting a glance at Blues, who looked marginally less tense.

"Uh-huh." Netto nodded vigorously, then winced, reaching up to touch the back of his head gingerly. "Uh, I kind of hit my head dodging," he muttered, flushing pink, when Enzan gave him a look.

"Dodging?" Enzan propped himself against a cabinet, folding his arms. "Why were you chasing someone in the first place?"

"They chucked the whole bottle at us," Netto explained, to Enzan's consternation, indicating a size with his hands that would almost certainly have got him severely injured, if not killed outright. "And, well, Higure-san found someone dumping old hardware in his trash, and there was an AT-5 in it, so I chased them," he shrugged as if all this made perfect sense.

"Why didn't you just call the police?" Enzan demanded, thoroughly exasperated; Netto made a face at him.

"There wasn't time – they'd have got away!"

"They got away anyway," Enzan pointed out bluntly, shaking his head. Netto just blinked at him, damp hair falling into his eyes. Enzan curled his fingers slowly into fists, wanting nothing so much as to reach out.

"Can't win 'em all," Netto said philosophically, tiling his head to look up at Enzan with a familiar grin creeping onto his face. "Hey, En-zan, come here?" And he reached out with one bare arm, catching Enzan's hand and tugging insistently.

Enzan went willingly, unable to suppress a shiver at that deliberate elongation of his name. Netto smiled at him, eyes dark and intent as his free hand slid around the back Enzan's neck, pulling him down into a kiss.

If last night had been intense, this was doubly so. Enzan gasped into it, pressing forward into Netto's arms as heat curled in his stomach, finally dispelling the lingering traces of worry and annoyance. He broke the kiss, startled, when his hands at Netto's back found nothing but warm bare skin.

"What...?"

Netto laughed uncomfortably, looking away with a blush. "They took my clothes, okay? Mama's gonna bring new ones."

"Oh." Enzan processed that, kicking off his shoes and climbing up onto the bed. Obligingly, Netto shifted over to make room. The idea that he was wearing nothing at all besides the flimsy hospital gown was, Enzan found, very distracting. Thoughtfully, he ran an exploratory hand from Netto's shoulders to the small of his back – soft skin over taut muscle – and smirked as Netto _squeaked_, sitting bolt upright.

"Enzan!"

"Hmm?" Smiling despite himself, Enzan leaned in to kiss him again, teasing Netto's mouth open and feeling thoroughly satisfied as he responded eagerly. The day was definitely improving.

It was a long, heated moment before Netto broke away with a sigh, wriggling back to lean against the headboard. "We have the worst luck ever," he complained, although without much heat. Enzan regarded him quizzically, shifting so that they were shoulder to shoulder. Netto leaned into him with a sigh, explaining: "Mama, Papa, and a bunch of nurses could walk in any second. Plus, we _still_ didn't get to finish that battle," he added indignantly.

Enzan laughed shortly, shaking his head at Netto's priorities even as he sought out his hand, twining their fingers together. "There'll be time, idiot." Strange, how that had turned into a term of endearment lately.

* * *

"Netto-kun!" Rockman came online in battle-mode – understandable, since he'd been forced to offline immediately after calling for the emergency services. Whatever had been in that bottle, it had absolutely drenched the PET as well as most of Netto.

"Relax, Rock-kun." Dr Hikari moved into view, and Rockman blinked, reaching out rapidly to the local networks to pinpoint his location, since he didn't recognise the room. He was... in the hospital?

"Papa?" he asked worriedly, automatically searching the local records for his Operator and very relieved to find him listed under 'Observation'.

"Netto-kun is fine," Dr Hikari reassured him, stripping off a pair of plastic gloves and picking up the PET. "And so are you. No damage at all."

"Oh." Rockman processed this, reaching out automatically over the link and receiving a relieved, wordless response from Netto. "What was that stuff?" he asked as Dr Hikari left the room – some kind of lab – and headed for the elevator.

His father laughed. "Would you believe it's actually a solvent that's used to clean and fix pre-printed circuitry?"

"Really?" Rockman asked, vaguely surprised. Something about the whole thing was nagging at him, but he couldn't chase it down. "So it wasn't harmful?"

"Not to you," his father agreed cheerfully. "It was probably good that they didn't let Netto soak in it any longer, though."

"Oh." Rockman considered that. "He's okay, though?" Had someone called Enzan-kun and Blues, or would they think they'd been abandoned? He bit his lip, resolving to go in search of Blues as soon as he'd made sure of Netto.

"Absolutely." Dr Hikari stepped out of the elevator, nodding to the nurses who greeted him. "You can see for yourself, in a moment. Once I've returned your PET, I'll go get started on those AT-5 units."

"No one caught the attackers, then?" Rockman surmised, unsurprised but a little disappointed.

"Not yet." The look Dr Hikari shared with him was full of silent agreement: these people had a lot to answer for. "Ah, here we are." He knocked politely on a door before pushing it open. "All clear, Netto-kun – oh, Enzan-kun, good afternoon..."

That was enough to get Rockman's attention. If his father had raised an eyebrow at seeing Netto and Enzan sitting together on the bed, it turned into a smile when Rockman zipped over the IR connection with a happy, surprised sound, pixelating directly into Enzan's PET.

"Blues!" Thankfully for his dignity, he did manage to keep from flinging himself into Blues' arms, but nothing could have wiped the smile off his face. Blues whirled at his abrupt arrival, tension visibly falling away from him as he saw Rockman. He took one long pace, halving the distance between them.

"Are you all right?" Blues asked quietly, the viewing window abandoned for the moment. Rockman nodded happily, replying just as quietly.

"Perfect." Fugitive criminals and people trying to kill them aside, he was, right now.

_Sappy, Nii-san._ Netto's amused voice echoed in his head; Rockman ignored him, stepping a little closer to Blues. He could almost imagine that he could see right through the visor – and he wasn't, he realised, imagining the faint curl of a smile on Blues' lips.

"Good," Blues murmured after a long moment of just looking at each other, turning back to the viewing window. Rockman turned too, faintly and irrationally disappointed until Blues' hand found his, their fingers entwining. Blushing slightly, Rockman snuck a peek at Blues – as perfectly deadpan as ever – before hastily averting his gaze, concentrating on what was going on outside the cyberworld.

Netto was turning the PET critically over in his hands, examining it. "It's okay, right Papa?"

"Just fine," their father reassured him. "That stuff was an industrial cleaning agent that's often used on electronics – you were at more risk than the PET was, Netto-kun."

"Huh." Netto blinked up at him, then examined his arm closely – the left one, which had been covered in the green goop. "But I'm fine now, see? Do I really have to stay here overnight?"

"Netto-kun," Rockman admonished as Enzan rolled his eyes and their father laughed, examining the chart at the end of the bed.

"Well, you don't seem to have a concussion, and you didn't inhale any solvent, so I don't see why not."

"Yes!" Netto cheered, punching the air; Enzan elbowed him.

"Put some clothes on first, idiot," he pointed out dryly. Dr Hikari laughed, and Rockman snickered despite himself at the swift red that stained Netto's features.

"Mama should be here soon," their father reported with a grin. "I've got to get back to the lab, but I'll stop by the desk on my way and let them know you're fine to be discharged."

"Thanks, Papa."

Rockman barely noticed Dr Hikari leaving, all his attention concentration on a sudden itch of memory and recognition, triggered by something he'd said. Netto-kun hadn't _inhaled_ any solvent – why was that significant? He'd gone so still that Blues turned to look at him, thumb drawing softly across the back of his hand in a questioning caress. Rockman shivered faintly at the quiet intimacy, flashing a brief smile that was meant to be reassuring but faded too soon.

"Netto-kun," he began slowly, almost thinking aloud. "That stuff was green, wasn't it?"

"Huh?" Netto peered over at the table, and Enzan obligingly picked up his PET, holding it where they could all four see each other. "Yeah – Rockman, what...?"

"A watery green, with an oily sheen," Rockman persisted, seeing the stacked jars and their inhalant toxin signs again in memory.

"...yeah," Netto agreed slowly, frowning at him. "Spit it out, Rockman, what is it?"

"I've seen that stuff before." Rockman bit his lip, watching Netto's eyes go wide and Enzan's narrow. "So have you – at the lab, remember? When we were working on the Sticky Chip?"

Netto's mouth dropped open, forming a soundless 'oh.' Rockman nodded grimly as Blues and Enzan looked between the two of them. "It can't have been that," Netto protested, eventually finding his voice. "That's way too much of a coincidence!"

"Where else would anyone find a twenty-litre jar of that type of industrial solvent?" Rockman countered – he didn't like it much either, but it was a fact. "Netto-kun, the balance of probability suggests a Sci-Labs insider."

"He's right." Enzan flicked a glance between Enzan and Netto before addressing Blues. "Blues, investigate the logs at Sci-Labs. There must be some kind of record of who took the solvent."

"I'll help," Rockman volunteered, relieved when Netto set his jaw, nodding assent. "I have clearance codes." The fact that they were almost certain to know the criminals only increased his determination to make them pay – for everything.

* * *

"Here." Rockman pointed across a wide gulf to a separate area of panels – a linked subsystem. Blues followed his gaze, tracking the access path back towards the server's main link hub.

"No point taking the long way," he observed quietly; while many of Sci-Labs' systems had been shut down or put into sleep mode for the night, this place never truly slept. There were still Navis wandering the grids just as technicians wandered the real-world hallways with coffee cups in hand. "Ready?"

"Sure." Rockman flashed him a bright grin, but his eyes were troubled, and had been since he'd brought up the connection with Sci-Labs.

Frowning to himself, Blues kicked off into a powerful leap, utilising the energy of his mass-potential to boost his speed. He thought he heard Rockman laugh for a moment before the wind whipped it away, and it took him back to the previous night with unexpected intensity. A smile escaped him as he touched down on the surveillance grid, Rockman close beside him. Last night had been a revelation; Blues hadn't expected Rockman, usually so diffident and shy, to be as passionate and demanding a lover as he'd proved.

"Let's see..." Rockman picked his way across the grid, examining the various security programs. Blues spent a moment admiring the easy precision of his movements, before shaking it off and following.

"This is the camera control system." Rockman stopped in front of a dense stack of programs, tapping an access code into a control node. Blues examined the system for a moment, considering its configuration, before moving forward and lifting a hand to examine a likely data stack. Bits scrolled before his eyes, resolving into hundreds of separate data streams that the program was busily sorting, categorising, examining for predefined threats, and then encoding for storage.

"Here." Rockman laid his hand beside Blues', bringing up a map of the Sci-Labs facilities that he began tagging camera-feeds to. It would be possible, Blues thought, to build up a complete picture of every lab and hallway and corridor, but current happenings weren't their concern.

"There are the cameras we should concentrate on," Rockman explained, pointing out an area of the map that Blues was unfamiliar with. There were three cameras, focused on different areas – a lab, and two corridor angles. Blues tapped into the current feed – only the main hallway was lit, and that empty – and nodded, moving around Rockman to trace the continuous data stream to the storage module.

"You work forward from your last visit; I'll work back."

"Right." Rockman nodded, settling onto the edge of a stack to review the video files, images flickering rapidly before suddenly glassy eyes. Blues chose to do things differently, selecting the files that ended at noon – when Netto-san had been attacked – and opening all three feeds in separate windows before him, playing them rapidly backwards.

For a few long minutes there was no sound but the steady, monotonous hum of the security programs, the light from the video screens flickering around him. Though there was a lot of traffic through the area Rockman had earmarked, jerky stop-motion human figures moving backwards through the hallways in their labcoats and uniforms, the lab itself remained dark and empty. Reading the ends of the files, Blues let them close and pulled the next set, working back through the past two days in twelve-hour sections.

It took six sets of records – a human puppet-theatre with only occasional breaks in the quickly-established routine – before he found it. The seventh batch of files, though consistent on the surface with the rest of the video files in the archive, displayed nothing but error messages when commanded to play. Frowning, Blues dismissed his screens and lifted the files manually, examining them and finding to his dismay that they hadn't simply been corrupted, which might have been repairable, but wholesale replaced with text files recoded to resemble video.

"Rockman."

"Hm?" Rockman blinked, coming out of his data access trance and looking up expectantly at Blues.

"Here." Blues passed over the files, and Rockman examined them as he had, face creasing in dismay.

"Oh no."

"Can you tell who replaced them?" Blues asked quietly, already knowing the answer; anyone going to this much effort to cover their tracks wouldn't take half measures.

"No." Rockman shook his head, speaking quietly enough that his words almost blended into the hum of the systems. "Security write-access is on a separate password system, and no one outside the Director should have it." In practice, of course, they were both aware that Sci-Labs had functioned without a proper Director for years, the separate departments running themselves while government bureaucrats were subbed in for financial oversight.

"What about the rest of this batch?" Rockman asked hopefully; Blues turned back to the archive stack, pulling file after file with the same date-stamp. After a moment, Rockman stepped up beside him, helping to sift through the files. "They're all the same," he concluded with a sigh. "Data files – it must all have been done at the same time. We're back where we started..."

"Count yourself lucky." Blues quirked a brief, wry smile as Rockman glanced curiously up at him. "This could easily have been a trap."

Rockman shuddered, moving fractionally closer to Blues. "I've had enough of traps."

"Mm." Blues shifted, allowing their shoulders to brush for a moment before he looked back down at the file he was still handling. "This seems to be a journal article – cybernetics research."

"Probably straight out of the library server," Rockman concluded with a sigh. "Not many people deal with cybernetics these days."

"True." Blues glanced about; as far as he could tell they'd attracted no attention, although it would doubtless have been a different story in business hours. "I think we're done here."

"For now," Rockman agreed, releasing the files he held back into the archive. He turned to face Blues, holding out a hand and smiling so shyly and _hopefully_ that Blues couldn't help but respond, taking his hand and nodding with a tiny smile of his own. "Let's go."

The transition back into the public network was technically near-instantaneous; despite this, Blues was conscious the whole time of Rockman's presence beside him, that unmistakeable, deceptively calm energy signature resonating with his own through their clasped hands. Rockman didn't let go once they'd touched down on the fringes of the Net City server, instead turning to Blues with sparkling eyes.

"I should really check in with Netto-kun..."

Blues nodded slowly, just watching him, and Rockman beamed, squeezing his hand, before his eyes went blank and far away as he communed with his Operator. Bowing his head, Blues took the opportunity to forward a brief message to Enzan, explaining their findings and asking for orders, though he was ninety-percent certain what they'd be. Despite himself, his eyes were drawn back to Rockman, whose grip on his hand was reassuringly firm despite the distance in his eyes. Whatever it was, that strange pseudo-psychic links between Rockman and Netto-san, it was often disconcerting. Blues wasn't sure he envied it – Rockman had once described it as being somewhere between the overlap that occurred in Cross Fusion and the echo effect of Full Synchro.

A succession of silent emotions passed across Rockman's face – amusement, indignation, hope – and he shook himself out of his trance, smiling shyly up at Blues. "Netto-kun got let out of the hospital." He stilled again for a moment, briefly, and Blues waited patiently until those green eyes came back to life, tilting up to him. "He says to tell you Enzan-kun will see you later, at home."

"Ah." As he'd expected – Blues smiled briefly, amused. No doubt Enzan-sama was just as interested in private time with Netto-san right now. "I'm at your disposal, then," he murmured, sweeping his fingers across the back of the hand he still held in an impromptu caress and thoroughly satisfied when Rockman stiffened, blushing a fiery shade of red. Blues could have kissed him then, despite the semi-public location, but Rockman surprised him again, pulling away with an anticipatory light in his eyes.

"In that case, you'll have to catch me – ah!" He blinked, startled and flushed, as Blues moved in lightning-fast, catching him by the hips and pulling them flush together even as he activated a link – to Rockman's private home page, as it happened. Rockman gasped, hands going up to tug at Blues' helmet as the wind of high-speed transmission whipped at them, and Blues proceeded to prove, thoroughly and wordlessly, that he had no intention of letting Rockman go.


	16. Chapter 16

Title: Infinite Gravity  
Part: 16/18  
Rating: T  
Characters/Pairings: Rockman & Blues, Netto & Enzan  
Notes: Set a good five years after canon. This is slightly AU in that I've played fast and loose with canon versions and background details - it's mostly based on the anime timeline, but there are some significant game and manga details in here too, as well as some made up stuff like new viruses and attacks. Please be warned that this fic contains shameless fanon cliches, because they are relevant to the plot. Slightly late, as I was busy last week.

**Infinite Gravity**

**16**

_Netto-kun, pay attention_, Rockman admonished for the third time in as many minutes. It was, in other words, a fairly typical English class, made intolerably slow by the warmth of the summer afternoon and the distant sounds of a gym lesson drifting through the open window. _Ishida-sensei always likes to call on you._

_This stuff is boring,_ Netto complained silently, propping his chin on his hand as he stared at the passage on his screen. Rockman sighed to himself; he could _feel_ his twin spacing out again.

_Enzan-kun can speak English_, he pointed out, perhaps a little more sharply than he'd intended. It wasn't really fair to throw his relationship with Enzan-kun back in Netto's face.

Netto glared at the screen, highlighting a couple of words for the auto-dictionary to look up. _I know enough to understand a case report or explain a program. Who needs to know this mouldy old stuff, anyway?_

_It's a classic, Netto-kun._ It was in fact Mark Antony's speech from _Julius Caesar_, and Rockman couldn't really see the point of it either, beyond admiring the cleverness of the language. He shook his head, leaving Netto to it and absently running ping tests on the local wireless networks. Something had been bothering him all day, more than Netto's usual frustration with school or Blues' absence – he had, Rockman thought with amusement, become spoiled by the past couple of days. Still, the sensation that he was missing something refused to be squashed.

Frowning in thought, Rockman sat down on a digital box, poking through his memory files. It was definitely something that had happened in the past few days – medium-term storage. And all that had happened today had been school; Netto had been so busy after his week off that he'd barely had time to speak to his friends. Dekao-kun had been disgruntled that the planned Net Battles had been postponed again, of course, and Rockman couldn't blame him. He and Blues still hadn't finished their interrupted match, though it had been the last thing on his mind in the time they'd spent together.

Rockman shook himself firmly out of _those_ remembrances. Whatever was bothering him was something else entirely, something to do with the case. Despite everything that had happened, they seemed little better off than before, with no real leads and too many dead ends. This criminal was, Rockman thought dispiritedly, too good at covering his tracks.

Tracks... something about that struck a chord with the persistent itch at the back of his mind. Rockman frowned, pulling his knees up to his chest as he followed the thought back to its source. The hacker had covered his tracks by implanting journal articles into the security database... science and technology articles...

Rockman sat bolt upright, almost falling off the block he occupied as he finally realised where he'd seen those articles on cybernetics before.

_Netto-kun!_

_Huh? What is it, Rock-nii?_ Netto sounded startled, and also a little guilty, as though he'd been slacking off again. Hopping into his laptop screen, Rockman narrowed his eyes as Netto blinked innocently at him.

_Pay attention to your lessons,_ he scolded, folding his arms across his chest. _Hey, Netto-kun, is it okay if I head home for a bit? I thought of something I want to check out._

_Sure, I guess._ Netto frowned at him, confusion colouring his eyes before he hastily refocused them on the teacher. _What is it?_

_I'll tell you later,_ Rockman promised – no sense in distracting his Operator even more, after all. Waving in farewell, he pixelated out, transferring into the school system and from there into the wider public network. It was just luck, he realised as he made his way at top speed across the grid, that it had only been a couple of days; he'd been so caught up in everything that had happened that he'd neglected the usual routine maintenance tasks like tidying up files and clearing system caches. If he was lucky, that would come in handy today.

Hopping easily out of high-speed transmission into the local network, Rockman activated his link, the cyberworld blurring to blackness around him before resolving into the familiar architecture of Netto's PC. Everything was as they'd left it this morning, the system operating in minimal, power-saving mode, most of the grid dark and unoccupied. Rockman took a quick look around at the silent panels – the updated security systems that their father had put in meant that not even a whisper of a virus could make it past the firewalls – before booting up the systems he needed, watching in approval as programs and processes came online.

Finding the main system cache and the associated processor logs, Rockman settled down to do some digging. He'd read the contents of that disk into system memory, however briefly, and traces of the data it had contained should still be there – somewhere. It would, Rockman thought with some resignation as he began sifting through the logs, be a long task. Although he already knew the exact timestamp that he was looking for, thanks to his own internal clock, pulling the relevant data blocks from randomised storage and reassembling them into readable files was exceptionally tedious. It was, Rockman thought with some amusement as he patiently, painstakingly separated, sorted and recombined raw binary data, a very good thing that he hadn't asked Netto to help with his.

Eventually, he had what he'd been looking for – a more or less complete reconstruction of the data disk Netto had given back to Umino-san on Saturday. Sighing, Rockman stretched a little as he began examining the files. He wasn't even really sure what he was looking for, only that to have two archives of cybernetics research seemed too much of a coincidence. It seemed sensible to conclude that the files which had been inserted into the security logs had been pulled from data that the hacker had lying around. That pointed to an interest in cybernetics, which when Rockman thought about it, tallied with all the other information they'd gathered. If their mysterious enemy was really interested in turning humans into Navis – well, cybernetics was the study of self-regulating systems, and integral to any kind of sophisticated AI.

Rockman leaned back against the tall stacks of the PC's main storage system, feeling the warm hum of cycling data reverberating though him as the thought back to his captivity. Maybe they were going about this the wrong way. Anyone with that level of ability was going to be able to cover their trail pretty effectively, which made tracking them down a problem. Maybe it was time to think about laying traps instead, and waiting for the hacker to come to them.

Traps... Rockman frowned, ducking his head at the memory of the trap that had been set for _him_. It was embarrassing, because he ought to have noticed the changes in the PET – he shouldn't have dismissed those tiny errors as system glitches. Maybe, Rockman decided, he should take that as a lesson – to check everything, and not just make assumptions. With that in mind, he looked again at the reconstructed files, skimming through not just the content itself, but the file metadata.

To his astonishment, an immediate pattern emerged. Not only had all the files been copied from Sci-Labs' research library, but they'd all been encoded and written to disk by a single, entirely too familiar individual. Shocked and wide-eyed, Rockman looked again, wondering whether he'd made a mistake, but the personal suffixes on the long chains of terminal identifiers were undeniably identical.

Shaken, Rockman dismissed the files – after making sure that they were saved – and sat staring out over the empty grid, trying to wrap his mind around the concept he'd been presented with. It had to be a coincidence, he knew – Sci-Labs' research library was open to anyone, and anyone could have planted those files – but he couldn't escape the notion that it all made a bit too much sense. If anyone could have pulled of the kind of hacks they'd seen, created those viruses... Rockman shook his head, setting his jaw. Without real, concrete evidence, they had nothing.

* * *

"Aah, that was the dullest History class ever!" Dumping his backpack onto the couch, Netto flopped back on his bed with a groan. "Rockman, why'd you leave me alone in there?!"

"Netto-kun, stop being a baby." Although the words were commonplace and chiding, the tone made Netto sit up. Rockman sounded – worried. Nervous. Almost depressed, and that really wasn't like him.

"Am not," Netto argued, mostly for the sake of it, as he shoved himself to his feet, crossing the room to sit down at the desk. "What's the matter, Rockman?"

"Netto-kun..." Rockman closed the screens he'd been looking at, staring out at him with troubled eyes. "Remember how I said that the security videos had been replaced with text files – journal articles?"

"Uh-huh." Perplexed, Netto scrunched his brows together. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"I recognised some of the articles from that disk – remember, the one you gave back to Umino-san? So I checked the cache data, and all the substituted files match up."

"Huh." Netto absorbed that, eyes widening as he thought through the implications. Umino-san had said it wasn't her disk, so... "You mean if we find who made the disk we might find the hacker?" Cheered by this thought, he sat upright, pulling out his PET in order to email Enzan with the news.

"That's just it, Netto-kun." Rockman was biting his lip, all but wringing his hands. "I checked, and it was Miyamoto-san."

Netto froze, hand hovering over the PET and mind blank with the enormity of that. Rockman seemed to take this as an invitation to continue, as he waved his hands hastily, all but babbling.

"I'm sure it can't be – I mean, the files are all from the research library, anyone could have accessed them! But – Miyamoto-san has the security clearance to get into the video system, and she programmed that battle stage from the tests. If anyone could create those viruses..." Rockman trailed off miserably, looking away. Netto continued to stare blankly, unable to keep from working back over all the times that Miyamoto-san had helped them. His very first project at Sci-Labs – he'd run into a problem that he'd been unable to solve, and even though she'd been busy with her promotion, she'd stepped in to show him which way to go. He'd watched her amalgamate his awkward coding attempts into a smooth and elegant program, and he'd wanted to be that good some day.

He didn't want to believe it, but it all made a bit too much sense. Wincing, Netto slumped over the desk, burying his face in his arms. "I guess this is what Papa meant – once you get to a certain level, you know all the suspects." It had been that way with Dr Regal, and Netto supposed he should have expected it now. "If she really... did all that." He shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. "I won't forgive her. Not for hurting you."

"You were the one who could have been killed yesterday, Netto-kun," Rockman said in a subdued voice, clearly waiting for Netto to make some kind of decision. Netto didn't want to, but he was all too uncomfortably aware that sticking his head in the sand wasn't going to make this go away.

"We have to find more evidence," he muttered eventually, sitting back and raking his hands through his hair. "I can't just accuse her, Rock-nii. Not without being sure." Really, really sure.

"What about that battle stage?" Rockman asked hesitantly; Netto blinked, trying to follow his train of thought and failing. What...? "If that was the origin of the trap that caught me, that would prove a connection."

Oh. Netto gaped for a moment; he'd not even considered that possibility. "I guess so – but we'd have to ask Papa or Meijin-san, and they're busy already..." They would want to know why, and he felt bad enough thinking this, let alone saying it!

"Maybe..." Rockman frowned, tapping his fingers nervously against the bands of his gloves. "If we were really careful, do you think we could take a look around her lab – oh!" He straightened. "Netto-kun, why don't you just ask Umino-san who took those jars of solvent away? She keeps all kinds of records like that, and she likes you..."

"Me?" Netto blinked, eyeing his Navi sideways. Had Rockman really not noticed? "Nii-san, it's not me she likes. It's you." He'd thought it was pretty obvious, but the way Rockman's eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped said it hadn't been. Huh. Mentally recalculating, Netto thought back over the last few times he'd run into Umino-san, and concluded that he was right; it was only when he was talking to Rockman that she _really_ started blushing and tripping over her feet.

"What?" Rockman had found his voice, and he sounded somewhere between disbelieving and really weirded out. Netto supposed he didn't blame him. "She doesn't – you can't – but..."

"Remember that virus attack last summer, with the swarm of Mettools?" Netto asked, mostly rhetorically. That had been a lot of small-fry viruses, and of course his father had been running Dimensional Area tests at the time. "You helped guide her to the safe room, before we used Cross Fusion." They'd been hunting down Mettools for ages. "After that, whenever you were with me she'd start acting –" Netto waved a hand. "You know. Girly. She totally has a crush on you, Rockman."

"But I'm a Navi!" Rockman all but wailed, waving his hands and staring at Netto in distress. Netto shrugged.

"Don't ask _me_." Girls were frequently strange and incomprehensible; Netto had given up trying to figure them out. "Anyway, you're probably right that we need to get a look round Miyamoto-san's lab. Maybe we can even get into her computer..."

"Netto-kun, that could be really dangerous!" Rockman protested, still looking a bit shell-shocked. "If... she really is the hacker, there are bound to be all kinds of security..."

"We can handle it," Netto argued, but Rockman shook his head stubbornly, setting his hands on his hips.

"It's not worth the risk. Why don't we check the building logs instead? Then we'll know whether she has an alibi for yesterday, at least."

"Fine," Netto sighed, then shoved himself to his feet, holding out his PET. "Let's go to Sci-Labs, then."

"Netto-kun, aren't you forgetting something?" Rockman frowned censoriously, and Netto winced.

"We don't have time for homework!" he protested.

"It won't take long." Rockman had that tone in his voice that meant he would not be disobeyed; Netto gave into the childish impulse to stick his tongue out at him. Rockman just ignored him. "Besides, it's barely five – there'll still be a lot of people around."

Grudgingly, Netto had to acknowledge the sense of this. "Okay, okay," he conceded, sitting back down and reluctantly opening the school website. "We'll go later."

* * *

The power went out so abruptly that Enzan, who had been reviewing proposed changes to a supplier contract, was left with glaring afterimages filling his eyes in the sudden dimness.

"Blues?" Pulling out his PET, Enzan rose smoothly, crossing to the windows to part the blinds and let some of the late evening sunlight into the room. The trouble with such huge windows was that they turned the office into a sun-trap in the summer, but it came with the position.

"The backup generators should come on shortly," Blues reported quietly, and indeed after another few moments the lights flickered back on and the PC booted up, cycling through system checks.

"Find the source," Enzan directed, returning to his desk. Blues acknowledged the order with a crisp nod, transferring out of the PET in a flicker of displaced pixels, and Enzan picked up his desk phone, frowning when he received only fuzzy static and the persistent beeping of a busy line. Something didn't ring right here; as the company headquarters, the building had a reinforced power grid that was digitally controlled on its own failsafes. It shouldn't simply give out – not without enough warning for the system to cycle the backup supply on.

"Oh, Vice President!" His PA looked up as Enzan left the office, phone held to his ear and stabbing at keys as though that might help. "I guess the phone system went down in the blackout..."

"Perhaps," Enzan commented non-committally, although he didn't believe it for a minute. The instincts developed over years of tracking down viruses and cyber-criminals were insisting that something deliberate was at work here. And indeed, as he headed out to the main hallway, the PET chimed as Blues opened a remote window.

"Enzan-sama, the power control system has been sabotaged," he reported sharply. Enzan nodded, bypassing the elevator and speeding his steps as he headed for the stairs.

"Virus activity?" He could hear the thin chirps of Mettools across the connection, but that was nothing for them to waste their time over; they had security Navis for a reason.

"Little enough – just small fry." Blues remained impassive, somehow managing to convey the impression that he would take or leave this fight as Enzan saw fit.

"Leave them." Enzan pushed through the door, clattering rapidly down the stairs. The blackout had almost certainly been a cover – but for what? The X-Gen PET project was the most top-secret IPC property of the moment, but the tactic of feint attacks designed to draw off attention put him a little too much in mind of their unidentified hacker for comfort. If that was the case, then... "The Dimension Area and Virtual Worlds projects. Check the security."

"Yes, Enzan-sama." The image in the holoprojector screen blurred into static as Blues transferred between network nodes in a process that had no human or real-world analogue. When the image reformed it showed the ice-white of the test server, Blues' hair whipped in a non-existed wind as he sprinted across the grid.

"Enzan-sama, there's an intruder!"

Setting his jaw, Enzan broke into an out-and-out run, abandoning corporate dignity as he barrelled down the stairs. In the holoscreen, Blues had pulled up short before the crystal-clear arc of an IPC firewall, the first of many that surrounded and protected the databanks and experimental programs. And, clearly visible and just as protected at the centre of the concentric rings, was – something. It looked more like an artist's mannequin than a Navi, and Enzan realised with a shock that he was looking at the doll creature that Rockman had described from his imprisonment.

Blues seemed to have come to the same conclusion, because his shoulders tensed and he brought his sword up as though to attack the transparent firewall.

"Blues!" Enzan snapped, veering off the stairs at the fourteenth floor and ignoring the astonished looks of the various technicians as he stormed into the development labs. Establishing a direct connection with the mainframe, he opened a larger window, examining the situation. "If you take down the firewalls, we'll lose the data." As he'd suspected, the firewalls and security measures were intact, which meant that the mannequin had been uploaded while the system was still rebooting after the blackout. "Right now, it's trapped."

"Yes Enzan-sama." Blues lowered his sword obediently, though he remained visibly tense. After a moment, as Enzan sorted quickly through his battle chips, he added, "It seems to be accessing the experimental data."

Frowning, Enzan considered that. There was no way to quickly take the programs offline, but if the Navi – or whatever it was – could be prevented from transmitting its data anywhere, then...

"Cut the network connections," he ordered the nervous group of scientists and technicians that had formed around him, without looking up. "All of them." As they ran to do his bidding, though, Enzan saw the doll-like Navi freeze momentarily in place before looking up, blank face turned unerringly to regard Blues sightlessly through the multiple firewalls. Somehow, despite the total lack of expression, Enzan had the unmistakeable sense that it was smiling at them. With jerky, distinctly puppetlike motions, it walked over to the larger of the two experimental programs that were quarantined there, reaching up to touch the slowly spinning outer ring of blue-white data.

There was a bright flash, and the screen visibly shook as first one, then another and another of the firewalls shattered like glass, the explosion gathering speed and force as it moved outwards, destroying everything in its path. Heart clenching, Enzan gritted his teeth, pressing the emergency recall button to log Blues out of the system. He reappeared in the PET screen just as the mainframe's fans cycled into overdrive, its CPU blowing out in a thin cloud of acrid chemical smoke.

* * *

"Netto-kun, you don't need to creep around this way," Rockman pointed out quietly, as his Operator looked around exaggeratedly, all but tiptoeing through the main entrance to the laboratory complex. "Remember, you're here to pick up some files that you need for school."

"Right." Netto squared his shoulders, marching up to the empty Reception desk. "I guess we should sign in, then..."

It would be suspicious not to. Rockman nodded, accessing the local network to add their IDs to the roster. He was relieved to see that Miyamoto-san had signed out some time previously; it would have put a halt to their plans if she'd still been in the building.

"Come on, Netto-kun." Tapping more closely into the network, Rockman accessed the security systems, cycling quickly through camera feeds. "It doesn't look like there are too many people about."

"Right." Tucking the PET back into its pocket on his belt, Netto headed nonchalantly towards the Programming labs. A little _too_ nonchalantly, Rockman thought critically, but it was better than the exaggerated secrecy. Reaching out across their link, he prodded Netto into hurrying up a little; they didn't have forever.

Keeping a watchful eye out via the cameras, Rockman directed Netto quickly through the main hallway to the C lab complex where they'd created the Sticky Chip. Not nearly as long ago, Rockman realised with surprise, as it seemed. So very much had happened since that it almost felt like a separate lifetime.

"Whew." Netto slid the door of the little room carefully to behind him, and Rockman accessed the utility grid, operating the lights and powering up the computer systems. He wasn't at all surprised to see, when Netto pulled out the PET, that the industrial-sized bottles of solvent had, along with all the other junk that had been temporarily stored here, disappeared.

"Let's see." Netto slid into the chair, docking the PET into the console before entering a few commands, bringing up the network that was shared by the entire Programming team. "I guess it's your turn, Rockman."

"Right." Uploading easily into the network, Rockman tapped into the router that served as the main connection hub, opening screen after screen of log files and scrolling rapidly through the data. There were sections of the system that were set aside for the department head's private use, and while he wouldn't dare try and force the encryption, he could track back from the access records and find the unique ID codes of the terminals that had viewed those files. And once he had the codes, he could pull the router logs from those terminals and end up with a near-perfect record of Miyamoto-san's network activity.

Absorbed in the fine detail of cross-referencing network addresses, Rockman didn't notice the repetition until he parsed through the fourth entry.

"Netto-kun," he paused, looking up at his Operator as he searched quickly through the rest of the files, coming up with the same anomaly again and again. "I've found something."

"Really?" Netto sat up straight, biting his lip as he peered at the data Rockman had highlighted. "What is it?"

"An access record. Look," Rockman pointed out the string of digits that was much longer than a standard location ident. "This is an encrypted server area, separate from the rest of the network."

"Oh." Netto visibly chewed on that, frowning. "That doesn't prove anything, though. If it's encrypted, it could be anything, and we can't get into it."

"Not from here," Rockman agreed. "If we can get into the server room, though, I might be able to decrypt it." Or at least copy it, so that they could study it later. "Remember, they were installing new servers..."

"Miyamoto-san must have set them up herself." Undocking the PET, Netto lifted it so that the screen was level with his face and they could see eye to eye. "Rockman..."

"What is it?" It wasn't quite right to see Netto, usually so decisive, wavering like this. Rockman winced; he almost wished that he'd investigated this lead alone, before telling Netto. It wasn't fair, having to suspect people you knew – people you liked.

"What if we're wrong?" Netto asked in a low voice; Rockman sighed.

"Then I guess we'll owe her an apology." His instincts, though, were telling him the opposite, and it was obvious that, however much he might want to deny it, Netto had that same certainty that they were on the right trail.

"Yeah." Netto made a face and shook himself. "Okay, Nii-san, where's this server room, then?"

"B6." Rockman checked the department plans, wondering what level of security had been put in place and whether they had the clearance to bypass it. Net Saviours could get into almost anything, but he'd rather not broadcast their presence here unless he had to. He was so absorbed in these thoughts that he forgot to check the security cameras, with the result that Netto, too busy glancing over his shoulder, rounded a corner and smacked straight into someone coming the other way.

"Oww..." Rockman winced as Netto rebounded into the wall, then cringed again as he realised just who they'd run into. Enzan's eyes were hard and narrow as he looked down at Netto, his arms crossed.

"Going somewhere?"

* * *

"What are you doing here?!"

"I believe that was my question."

Blues considered the ice in Enzan's voice and the indignant heat in Netto's, and opted to leave them to it. Transferring into Rockman's PET, he raised an eyebrow at the sight of Rockman himself, lip bitten and wringing his hands as he watched their Operators quarrel.

"Hey."

"Ah!" Rockman visibly started, whirling to face him. "Blues!"

Blues considered him for a moment, taking in the anxious eyes and apprehensive expression, then crossed the short distance between them, reaching out to touch Rockman's cheek. "What's this face for?" he asked, low and trying not to be amused. As strong as Rockman was, as much as he'd grown, he would never stop being adorable. Rockman leaned fractionally into his hand, casting a silent yet speaking glance at the viewing window. Blues followed his eyes and shook his head.

"Nothing new." It was just the way Enzan-sama and Netto-san were, after all. "They'll get over it."

"Mm." Still sober-faced, Rockman ducked under Blues' arm, burrowing against his side as they watched their Operators glare at each other.

"Why are you here, anyway?" Rockman asked with nothing but curiosity in his voice as he tilted his head up to Blues.

"There was an incident at IPC." Thoughtfully, Blues considered his internal clock; they were past the point where Netto would usually have stormed off, though what that meant he couldn't say. "We were on our way to report to Meijin and Dr Hikari, and you were the last person logged in."

"Oh." Rockman frowned, brows drawing together in puzzlement, then abruptly gasped, eyes going wide. "Netto-kun! Netto-kun! Someone's coming!" He must, Blues realised, have tapped into the security cameras.

"Huh?!" Netto froze mid-rant, and Blues suppressed a smirk as Enzan rolled his eyes and grabbed the other boy by the arm, dragging him through the nearest door.

"Hey!" Netto protested, struggling against Enzan's grip. Where Blues might previously have expected the tense moment to end in blows, or at least a scuffle, it was instead stretched almost to breaking point as blue and brown eyes locked. When it finally broke, it was unclear who moved first, but the results were unmistakeable. Smirking, Blues turned to Rockman, who hastily closed the viewing window, switching to the other cameras with a furious blush.

"Where are we, anyway?" he asked, capturing Rockman's hand and interlacing their fingers.

"Oh." Rockman blinked, seemingly distracted from the spectacle of their Operators kissing. "I think this is the new server room..."

Blues raised an unseen eyebrow; despite the array racks along one wall, the room looked more like an office, with filing cabinets and a motley collection of PCs and peripherals spread over desks and countertops. "Was this where you were headed?" he asked, curious; Rockman had sounded pleased to have ended up here, however accidentally.

"Uh-huh." Rockman nodded earnestly. "I found an encrypted partition on the server, so we came to see if we could get in directly."

"You're investigating the department?" Blues narrowed his eyes as Rockman visibly squirmed; he clearly didn't want to talk about _something_, and it had to do with the case. He was about to push for further details, but at that moment the viewing window popped up, Enzan and Netto apparently having resolved their differences. It was, Blues supposed with some amusement, more effective than a fight.

"We're investigating Miyamoto-san, the Programming director." Netto was a little flushed, but his voice was steady. "Right, Rock?"

"Uh-huh." Rockman nodded unhappily, casting an apologetic look at Blues. "Remember those cybernetics papers that were put into the security archives?" Blues nodded, squeezing his hand encouragingly. "Well, I remembered I'd seen some of them before, on a misplaced disk that came from here. So I went and checked the cache, and those were Miyamoto-san's files."

"Didn't you work with her last year?" Blues asked quietly, realising he'd got to the bottom of the dilemma when Rockman nodded shortly, fingers tightening around his and eyes shadowed.

"Circumstantial evidence," Enzan-sama commented thoughtfully, eyeing Netto, who made a face.

"Yeah, that's why we're investigating."

Enzan shrugged. "Go ahead, then." Blues squeezed Rockman's hand one last time before transferring back into his own PET as Netto started examining the server, muttering about having to do all the work. Blues watched Enzan watch him for a moment, smiling slightly at the half-fond, half-exasperated look that crossed his Operator's face. Enzan shook it off quickly enough, joining Netto just as he announced cheerfully, "Found it!"

"Blues." Enzan-sama's eyes flicked to the server port with the gravity of an order, and Blues obeyed silently, logging in and pixelating onto the grid – the white of a nearly pristine network, crossed with flashing electric blue data impulses – beside Rockman.

"Partition?" Blues questioned mildly, examining the horizon that was clearly visible in all directions, the vast plain of the server almost featureless but for a few scattered pieces of data.

"Somewhere..." Rockman looked around, frowning, then bent to lay his hand against a panel, blue light flickering between his fingers as he accessed system metadata. Blues couldn't help but be quietly impressed with his control; most Navis had trouble with the line between the constructed 'reality' of the cyberworld and the digital, binary truth of it.

"That way." Rockman straightened, but he was frowning as he pointed out a direction that looked much like any other. Regarding him thoughtfully, Blues set out at a wary pace, fist clenched in anticipation of calling his sword. He didn't realise how tense he was until Rockman spoke up in a quiet, subdued voice.

"You feel it too?" His eyes were wary and he looked as though he half expected viruses to appear from nowhere.

"Mm," Blues answered noncomittally, though he understood Rockman's apprehension. Something felt _off _about this place, more even than the empty blankness of a network that should be bustling with programs and Navis. There was a crawling sensation at the back of his neck, as though he was being watched; deliberately, he shook his hair out, refusing to give in to weakness.

"Ah." Unexpectedly, Rockman stopped, staring at what looked like any other group of panels. "Here, I think."

"You think?" Blues tilted his head, considering this, then walked slowly in a circle, looking back at Rockman, who just shrugged, moving his hands as if to say he didn't know either. Kneeling, Blues placed both hands on the pristine white panels, initiating data access mode – and choked, arching as a massive flare of power erupted around him, the panels rippling outwards and fading to midnight black.

"Blues!" Rockman hesitated only a moment before diving into the maelstrom, grasping for his hands as Enzan and Netto cried out in distant alarm. It felt like being flayed alive, the burning rush of data streaming through him as the entire drive partition purged itself, its protections triggered. By the time it faded, Blues was swaying, only sheer stubbornness keeping him upright as he leaned into an equally shaky Rockman for support. They were both trembling and breathing hard, an unpleasant mockery of more intimate memories. Gritting his teeth until the weakness passed, Blues glanced around, unsurprised to see the panels stained a murky grey and data fragments scattered this way and that.

"I... guess that answers that," Rockman murmured, getting shakily to his feet. He held out a hand, but Blues ignored it momentarily, eyes and attention caught by one of the larger data fragments that had been tossed out of the imploding partition, and which looked unpleasantly, undeniably familiar.

"Yes. It does." Reaching for the data, he parsed it quickly, bringing up a fragmentary system schematic that was unmistakeably part of the now-destroyed IPC mainframe. The hiss of Enzan-sama's indrawn breath was all the confirmation he needed.

* * *

Proof positive, if it were needed. Ignoring Netto's blank look for the moment, Enzan keyed commands into his PET, on-screening the schematic Blues had found and checking the file ID tags. The creator's name was nothing but a string of digits, so he passed it to Netto, who was still looking shell-shocked.

"Well?"

"Huh? Oh!" Netto glanced down at the screen, grimacing mightily. "Yeah, that's Miyamoto-san's ID tag." He looked so dejected that Enzan couldn't help but feel sympathy; he himself had only met the woman once or twice, but Netto had interned in the department and known her well. The fact that she'd apparently tried to kill him was, however, a puzzle; they still knew very little about her motivations, or even whether she was working alone.

"Hey, Enzan, what's this?" Netto traced the schematic with a fingertip, frowning as Enzan flipped off the holoscreen, recalling Blues.

"A top-security IPC system that was hacked and destroyed tonight," Enzan reported shortly, the memory of his most recent interview with his father still stinging.

"Oh. Whoa." Netto cringed, then recalled Rockman hurriedly, checking his stats with half an eye on the screen. "What happened?"

"Not now." Enzan shook his head, motioning to the door. "I'm not telling it twice."

"Right." Netto nodded, sweeping his hair out of his eyes and starting determinedly for the door. "We should go find Papa and Meijin-san." Enzan had barely taken a step after him when there was a loud, ominous click and the door swung slowly open. They froze mid-step, and Enzan was close enough to see pain and betrayal cross Netto's face at the sight of the dark-haired woman outlined in the doorway. She had her head turned, glancing over her shoulder, and Enzan could clearly see the shock and dawning realisation on her face as she turned to see them there. If their presence had left any doubt, the outrage and growing fury in Netto's eyes as he started forward must have convinced her that the game was up; she turned and ran.

Somehow, Enzan wasn't at all surprised – resigned, sympathetic, and hurting for Netto, but not surprised – when Netto took off after her.


	17. Chapter 17

Title: Infinite Gravity  
Part: 17/18  
Rating: T  
Characters/Pairings: Rockman & Blues, Netto & Enzan  
Notes: Set a good five years after canon. This is slightly AU in that I've played fast and loose with canon versions and background details - it's mostly based on the anime timeline, but there are some significant game and manga details in here too, as well as some made up stuff like new viruses and attacks. Please be warned that this fic contains shameless fanon cliches, because they are relevant to the plot. The final chapter and epilogue will be posted next week.

**Infinite Gravity**

**17.**

Miyamoto-san was faster than he'd been expecting. Gritting his teeth, Netto skidded around a corner after her, wishing he'd thought to bring his skates. He was just in time to catch a glimpse of her back as she disappeared through a door that was marked 'Fire Exit', which he knew led to the covered car park. Netto's heart sank; if she had a car, he'd never catch up to her on foot. Already he was breathing hard, his leg muscles protesting the prolonged sprint and threatening to cramp.

To Netto's relief, when he burst through the door into the dim, echoing space, his quarry was still running, outlined against the bluish dusk light that spilled through the entrance way. Sucking in a great lungful of the humid air, he took off after her, narrowing his eyes in determination. More than anything, he wanted to know _why_ – all the attacks, kidnapping Rockman, experimenting on him, it was unforgivable, and he wanted to hear her explanation so he could throw it back in her face!

_Netto-kun, calm down,_ Rockman whispered in his mind as Miyamoto-san dodged neatly around a startled, white-coated technician.

"Catch her!" Netto yelled, but the guy just stood there gaping like an idiot, letting her get away. Grinding his teeth, Netto pelted past him, chasing his quarry out into the narrow roads of the industrial park. The sound of his feet was hard on the pavement, and he could see the pale flash of her face as she looked back over her shoulder, desperation and calculation plainly visible. She veered left at the next lot, heading down an alley between two factory units, and Netto put on a burst of speed, ignoring the pain in his calves in favour of not losing her.

_Nii-san, can you tell where she's heading?_ he asked silently, yelping as he misjudged the corner and caught his shoulder on the pole of a signpost. Miyamoto-san was only a fleeing shadow in the darkness of the alley; he raced after her, the cement beneath his feet soggy with cigarette ends and gum wads. What little stuck to his shoes was trodden off a few paces later, his arm scraping concrete as he emerged into the fading light.

_There's lots of little units at this end,_ Rockman reported apologetically, and indeed the road that had curved around the lot branched and branched again. To Netto's surprise, rather than trying to lose him, Miyamoto-san – she looked winded now, breathing hard and slowing, running haltingly – seemed to be heading straight for one of those little units, a garage-sized building with peeling paint that looked like it hadn't been used in years, with a very familiar blue van parked in its tiny lot. Netto cheered internally; he was gaining on her, thudding across the pavement as she pulled up gasping at the door, entering a code with hands that were visibly shaking. She disappeared through the door, and Netto hit it before it could swing shut, barrelling through with all caution thrown to the wind.

He had a fleeting impression of a stark room filled with familiar and unfamiliar machinery, a cave of humming and electronic beeps festooned with wiring and lights. All his attention, however, was on Miyamoto-san's back as she looked back, once, before stepping firmly into a glowing pillar of light. The humming increased to an ear-splitting whine, the light brightened unbearably, and the air began to glitter as Netto _lunged_, triumph settling in his stomach as he grabbed for her arm.

Everything went white. For a moment, there was a terrible empty, weightless sensation, and Netto gritted his teeth, straining forward and grasping only empty air.

Gradually, the light faded, and Netto blinked away ghostly afterimages as sight returned, and with it an astonishment that froze him where he was. Before him, unmistakeable, was an electric blue grid that stretched off to meet an electric-blue horizon, data flashes pulsing along every surface. He was, Netto realised with a blank sort of disbelief, in the cyber world.

As if the thought had been a summons, a streak of blue lightning lanced out of the sky, and Rockman appeared before him in a cloud of pixels, astonishment and disbelief written all over his face.

"Netto-kun?" He reached out with a wary hand, poking Netto in the chest; looking down at himself, Netto realised that his usual clothes were morphing and changing, warping to the lines of his body. More than that, though, Rockman was touching him. Netto looked up, meeting his twin's eyes with a smile so wide that it almost hurt.

"Hi, Nii-san." He tried to move forward, fully intending to yank Rockman into a bone-crushing hug, but was pulled up short by a tug from behind. Netto's smile faded a little, overtaken by puzzlement and frustration, but Rockman, being Rockman, understood. A matching smile, tinged with shyness and awe, split his face as he wrapped his arms around Netto, holding on like they'd never been able to.

_Saito-niisan_. Netto hugged back, delighted, for a long moment before the tugging sensation became insistent. Reluctantly, he let go, taking a single step backward as the bright glitter in the air seemed to multiply. Distantly, someone was yelling his name, but he resisted the pull for a moment more, raising his right hand and laying it flat against Rockman's left – palm to palm, a perfect mirror image. Then there was a violent yank, and Rockman vanished in a rush of light.

There was a long, confused moment that Netto would later liken to going over the top of a rollercoaster, backwards, and then he was gasping for breath, toppling backwards and taking his rescuer with him as he crashed to the floor.

Netto blinked up at Enzan's pale, strained face for a long moment, mind completely blank, before everything seemed to collapse in on him at once and it all went black. Enzan's panicked voice mingled with Rockman's, following him down into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Netto!" The clawing panic that had eased when he'd finally managed to drag Netto out of the light returned full force when his eyes rolled up in his head and he passed out. Something in the convoluted den of machinery was beeping insistently, but Enzan ignored it, checking Netto's pulse – rapid but slowing – and breathing. He didn't seem to have been harmed, although Enzan, arriving just in time to get a firm grip on the back of his shirt, was grimly certain that he'd seen Miyamoto-san fading into a sparkle of light, a look of triumph on her face.

"Netto-kun, wake up!" Rockman implored from Netto's PET. Enzan shifted into a more comfortable position, sitting cross-legged with Netto's limp form across his lap. He'd already called for the Net Police, but if Netto didn't come around soon he'd have to send Blues for an ambulance. At least it seemed like a natural faint; Netto's breathing was steady, though his skin when Enzan laid a hand against his cheek was clammy with exertion.

"Mmph..." Finally, Netto stirred, scrunching up his eyes and shifting slightly. Enzan sighed in relief, shaking his head fondly as he brushed Netto's hair back with a hand that he kept steady through sheer force of will.

"Idiot," he accused without heat, attempting a smile that felt decidedly shaky as Netto blinked hazy eyes open. "Why do you always have to worry me like this?" He had, Enzan thought ruefully, only himself to blame. Netto had always been an absolute magnet for trouble – and Enzan himself was like a compass needle, hopelessly snared by that bright grin.

It wasn't much in evidence at the moment; Netto frowned in confusion, a furrow forming between his brows as his eyes flicked from Enzan to the cable-festooned ceiling.

"Huh? Enzan?" With some effort, Netto shoved himself into a sitting position – Enzan could see his arms trembling, and moved hastily to prop him up. It was clear that whatever that woman had done, it had severely affected him. Enzan narrowed his eyes, crushing rage beneath ruthless practicality as Netto wobbled, his eyes going suddenly wide as he caught sight of the pillar of light, narrowed now to a thin beam.

"She – I – Rockman!" Netto grabbed for his PET with shaking hands, leaning heavily against Enzan. Rockman looked out at them from the screen, and Enzan was sure he caught a hint of wistfulness behind the relief on his face.

"Whoa," Netto commented eventually, shaking his head with a wide-eyed expression. "I guess I didn't imagine it."

"Of course you didn't, Netto-kun," Rockman said, rather more patiently than Enzan was capable of.

"You almost got yourself killed, idiot," he pointed out dryly, poking Netto accusingly in the side. "Don't you ever look before you leap?"

"Do so," Netto argued, seemingly instinctively, since the assertion was patently false. He squirmed closer, back flush against Enzan's chest and head a warm weight on his shoulder. "Wait – killed?"

"You didn't notice," Enzan realised, wrapping his arms around Netto with a resigned sigh. He could _feel_ him still at that, as the implications started to sink in.

"What?"

"Miyamoto-san didn't come out of that light, Netto." Enzan tightened his hold as Netto froze, unruly brown hair tickling his cheek. "If I had to guess – I think it's a digitiser." Which in itself was a remarkable feat of invention; even the concept was still hotly debated.

"So..." Netto stared at the ceiling, and Enzan could almost hear him thinking. "She's like Rockman now, then – in the cyber world."

He seemed to be taking this rather lightly. Enzan frowned, tilting his head to catch a glimpse of a thoughtful face and faraway eyes that didn't sit at all well with him. "The question is whether she can come back," he pointed out – he, after all, had been the one to see her dissolve into glittering flecks, wearing that so-triumphant expression.

"Huh?" Netto twisted to face him, blinking a little as they ended up bare inches apart. "But I came back!"

"Because I pulled you out in time." Enzan shuddered despite himself at the far too distinct memory of Netto standing there enraptured and insensible as the light began to glitter off his skin. That sight was going to haunt him for some time to come, he knew. "You were starting to dissolve," he admitted quietly, watching Netto's eyes go wide and defenceless. They were so close that it would have been easy, a great distraction and relief, to simply lean in, but at that moment his PET chimed and Blues cleared his throat.

"Enzan-sama, the Net Police will arrive shortly."

"Good. Thank you, Blues." Enzan made to shift away, but the sudden bright flash of Netto's grin arrested him long enough for Netto to lean over, kissing him briefly – too briefly – before pulling away and starting to clamber laboriously to his feet.

"I'm all wobbly," he complained, staggering worryingly. Enzan grabbed for his arm, steadying him as pounding footsteps and distant sirens became audible from outside. Leaning warm and shaky against Enzan's side, Netto began to laugh.

* * *

It took so long to explain everything that Netto ended up sitting back down, cocooned in a blanket that Manabe-san had brought from the Commissioner's car. Rockman had been relieved when their father had been among the first to arrive; Dr Hikari had taken one look at Netto and insisted on examining him thoroughly. The eventual conclusion that he and Meijin-san had reached, after Enzan had explained what had happened, or almost happened, was that Netto was in need of rest and food. Meijin-san had contributed chocolate, and a junior policeman had been sent out for tea and noodles.

Despite this encouraging diagnosis, Rockman had resolved to keep a close eye on his Operator, and not even the warm, silent presence of Blues at his side – Enzan-kun had set up the PET's holoprojector on the nearest convenient flat surface, which happened to be the top of a console cabinet – could distract him from his self-appointed mission.

"I still can't believe Kazue-san managed all of this without any of us noticing." Dr Hikari looked helplessly around the room, clearly at a loss for where to start.

"This is fascinating." Meijin-san was bent over a console, not touching anything as he watched the data that scrolled across the screen.

"Fascinating or not, I want every bit of this thoroughly investigated," the Commissioner ordered. "Our objective now is to track down Miyamoto Kazue in Navi form – as impossible as it seems." Netto shifted at that, and for a moment Rockman thought he might protest, the same thought running through both their minds.

"We'll have to examine all this in situ," their father was saying, running a hand through his hair as he glanced around at the equipment. "It's all unknown – if we change anything, we could destroy it all." There was silence, awed and apprehensive, for a moment before Netto piped up, cheerful if hoarse with tiredness.

"So, what are our orders?"

"_You're_ going home to bed," Enzan informed him dryly; Netto made a disgruntled face, appealing first to Rockman, who stared him down, hands on hips, and then to the Commissioner.

"Enzan-kun is quite right," was the verdict; Rockman nodded in approval.

"Netto-kun, all this investigating will take time anyway," he pointed out reasonably. "You're not going to miss anything."

"No fair," Netto complained, but he was yawning, looking all too ready to fall asleep where he was. Rockman smiled to himself at the guardedly fond look on Enzan's face as he came over to help Netto to his feet.

"I'll drive you home," Manabe-san offered, starting toward to the door. Rockman opened his mouth to say something, but broke off, startled, as there was a sudden shriek from outside. Moments later, the door slammed open, and one of the Net Police marched inside, clutching the arm of a girl who stumbled miserably behind him. Rockman, Netto, and Dr Hikari gasped simultaneously as she looked up, fearful and wild-eyed, from beneath a messy fall of dark hair.

"Umino-san?" Netto croaked disbelievingly, and her eyes darted to him as the policeman saluted.

"Found her trying to sneak in the back, sir," he reported crisply. The Commissioner frowned mightily, and Rockman felt his heart sink.

"Umino-san, you too?" At the sound of his voice she visibly started, face paling then flushing as she stared at him – like a rabbit in the headlights, he couldn't help but think, borrowing a metaphor from Netto.

"W-where's Kazue-san?" she spoke up eventually in a wobbly, cracking voice, cringing away from Rockman's eyes. An uncomfortable feeling twisted in his core; Netto had been right about her after all, and when he put that together with what Miyamoto-san seemed to have been doing, it rang all kinds of alarm bells.

"She's dead," the Commissioner said bluntly, a partial lie of sorts that was enough to stagger the girl, her eyes going wide and defenceless before she moaned sickly, collapsing in the policeman's arms like a puppet with its strings cut.

"Take her to HQ for interviewing," the Commissioner ordered shortly, appearing to have lost patience – no wonder, Rockman thought, after everything. "Enzan-kun, I'd like your input on this tomorrow. Netto-kun, go home."

Thus ordered, everyone dispersed. Rockman stayed long enough to see Netto steered into bed by their mother, then headed out onto the web, restless and uncertain despite his own growing need for recharge. Somehow it was no surprise when he found himself atop the Silver Tower, staring out at the horizon as he ran back over – and over – the day's revelations.

By far the best and most treasured memory was that of Netto, warm and solid and real to him for once. Rockman smiled into the distance, touching the crest over his core. Not even Full Synchro could compare to being able to actually _hug_ his Operator – his brother. He hadn't expected it at all, had panicked when Netto had darted into the light after Miyamoto-san and frozen there like a statue. He'd reached out through the link, without thinking, and found himself transferring into the local network to see Netto standing there at the edge of the light, eyes wide and stunned. It was, Rockman considered, a very good thing that Enzan had been there. He'd made his own peace with his past life, but Hikari Saito had been very young when he'd died, and Rockman retained no more than vague, fragmented memories, more feelings than recollections. Netto-kun actually had a life to live, and while Rockman was perfectly aware that he would have no problem with being a Navi – no. It wouldn't be right, or fair.

It wasn't _fair_ that Miyamoto-san had got away, with the very thing that she had, presumably, wanted. The cyber world was almost limitless, and by now she could be anywhere; it was entirely possible that they might never find her. Added to the fact that there were many dangers out there for an inexperienced Navi – Rockman couldn't decide whether he felt sorry for her.

What was really troubling him, though, was the look on Umino-san's face when she'd seen him at Miyamoto-san's lab. It seemed like it might be at least partially his fault that she was mixed up in this. Biting his lip, Rockman drew his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and staring out at the horizon.

He _felt_ Blues transferring in before he pixelated into solidity, the contained flare of power as warm and familiar as an embrace. Tilting his head to look up at his lover, Rockman smiled a little as Blues dropped down to sit silently beside him on the ledge.

"Hi," Rockman offered quietly after a while. Unbidden, his hand crept across the brief distance between them, curling around Blues'.

"What is it?" Blues asked, low-voiced and calm, after an increasingly stretched silence. Rockman bit his lip, slanting a quick glance up at him before staring down at his knees, picking at the edge of the ledge with his free hand. Blues' fingers tightened encouragingly around his, and he sighed.

"That girl, Umino-san – she's the receptionist at the labs."

"I know." Blues turned to face him, thumb slowly stroking the back of Rockman's hand, and Rockman shifted a little closer instinctively.

"She always used to – well, she'd get all tongue-tied and blush whenever we'd see her." He shrugged uncomfortably. "I thought she had a crush on Netto-kun, but – well, Netto-kun said yesterday that it was _me_ she liked. I didn't really believe him, but..." he trailed off miserably, hunching his shoulders.

"I saw the way she looked at you," Blues observed neutrally; Rockman winced.

"Mm. There was an incident at the labs last year, and I saved her from some viruses – just Mettools and Fire Knights, nothing really. But – now I wonder if it's my fault, if she got involved with Miyamoto-san because of me." Sighing, Rockman ducked his head, picking stray pixels from the edge of the tower. Blues was silent for a long moment, thumb still stroking thoughtfully – comfortingly – over his fingers.

"Did you ever ask her to collaborate in crimes, or treat her as more than a friend?" he asked eventually, neutrally.

"Of course not," Rockman protested, frowning.

"Then she made her own choices," Blues concluded simply, squeezing his hand. "You can't be responsible."

Squashing his instinctive protest – Blues was right, after all, but the guilty sense of 'if only' was hard to shake – Rockman shifted closer, settling against Blues' side with a sigh. It had been a long day. Quietly, Blues wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling a data file out of storage with his free hand and offering it.

"Here. Dr Hikari found this on one of the consoles."

"Huh?" Rockman accepted it curiously, eyes widening as he examined it – it was a design spec for a custom Navi, streamlined and vaguely feminine in white and shades of green. "This..."

"Yes," Blues confirmed as Rockman studied the designs. The inbuilt weaponry seemed to be whiplike extensions that swept back from the forearms, but the stats indicated a low strength and chip compatibility. If she ran into anything more than a standard virus, she'd be in trouble – but, Rockman supposed, that wasn't greatly unusual. Not every Navi was designed for battle.

"I guess it's something, at least," he observed, snuggling shamelessly against Blues, who obliged by tightening his half-embrace, warm and solid against Rockman's side.

"They're still working on the systems," Blues reported, fingers drawing smooth arcs along Rockman's side. The caress tingled with unmistakeable intent, and Rockman shivered, blushing a little – just because no one was around didn't make this any less public. His own hand snuck around Blues' back, and he twisted to push his face into his lover's neck, nuzzling at his hair and rewarded with a rare, low laugh that was almost a purr. Smiling as he felt Blues activate his link, Rockman allowed himself to be transferred out, leaning up for an insistent, demanding kiss as the cyberworld blurred away.

* * *

Blinking gummy eyes open, Netto stared blearily up at the familiar ceiling, trying to work out why something felt off. It was, he concluded slowly, the light. It was brighter, somehow, the shadows shorter. That meant...

"Shit!" Bolting upright, Netto stared in disbelief at the green digits of his alarm clock. They glowed back at him, stubbornly refusing to read anything other than 12:17. He should have been at school hours ago!

"Rockman!" he wailed, shoving himself upright and staggering out of bed. "Why didn't you wake me?!"

The PET blinked on, coming out of standby mode, Rockman yawning into his hand as he booted up out of recharge. "Hmm? Oh. Mama said to let you sleep. She called the school."

"Oh." Netto deflated, collapsing into his desk chair. "Aw man, _more_ catch-up work?" Like he hadn't had enough of that last week!

"You could still go in for the afternoon," Rockman pointed out, shaking his head when Netto made a face.

"Meiru-chan'll make a fuss."

"She'll make a fuss anyway." Rockman had his hands on his hips, a stubborn look on his face. "Netto-kun, you can't afford to have extra homework if we're going to be investigating – Enzan-kun will get ahead of you."

"Like hell," Netto protested immediately, sighing heaving when he realised he'd been talked into it. Rockman, damn him, had the nerve to look smug about it, too. "Fine, fine," he grumbled, shoving himself heavily to his feet. He had about an hour before afternoon classes, enough time to grab a shower and something to eat. His stomach was growling and Mama was definitely cooking something tasty downstairs.

Showered and dressed in record time, Netto grabbed for his backpack, ignoring Rockman's yelp as he snatched the PET off the charger – served him right for being a killjoy – and clattered downstairs, ducking into the kitchen.

"Hey, Mama. What's to eat?" he asked hopefully – she had turned from the stove as he came in, ladle in hand.

"Ah, Netto-kun! You woke up at last." She beamed at him, taking a bowl from the counter and filling it with soup. "You must be hungry, hm? There are rice balls on the table – don't eat too fast!" she called after him as he plonked himself down in a chair, grabbing for a spoon.

"I won't," Netto assured her, though it came out muffled through a mouthful of rice. Rockman tutted at him from the PET. "Thanks, Mama."

"It's good that you're feeling better." His mother smiled at him before turning back to the stove, stirring at her saucepan. "Are you going into class this afternoon?"

"Uh-huh." Netto swallowed the last of a riceball, reaching for another even as he blew surreptitiously on his soup to cool it. This morning had been PE and Chemistry, neither of which he considered a great loss.

_Classes are important,_ Rockman scolded him silently, but his 'voice' was tolerant and almost amused. _I guess you needed the sleep, though. We can head over to the labs and see how they're doing after, if you like._

_Yeah_, Netto agreed, sobering as everything that had happened yesterday came crashing back to the forefront of his mind. Miyamoto-san, Umino-san, and he'd actually been to the cyber world. It was hard to believe now, in the light of day and the homely familiarity of the kitchen.

_Netto-kun_, Rockman prodded him gently, snapping him out of the trance he was in. _You don't want to be late..._

"Aah!" Jumping to his feet, Netto grabbed his backpack in one hand and a pair of riceballs in the other. "See you later, Mama!" he yelled over his shoulder as he bolted out of the kitchen, shoving his feet into his shoes in the entryway and snapping on his skates. This afternoon was supposed to be Maths and Programming, and he was only barely caught up on last week's work. Skidding out of the door, he made for school at top speed, dodging between parked cars and lunchtime shoppers.

"Hey, Rockman," he called over the rush of the wind in his ears, knowing the Navi would hear him. "You think Miyamoto-san's _really_ in the cyber world now?"

"Uh-huh," Rockman confirmed as Netto skated a wide arc around a corner, the school gates coming into view in the distance. "Papa found her Navi design – Blues gave me a copy."

"Huh." Avoiding a flowerbed, Netto pulled to a skidding stop outside the school, kicking out of his skates. "Where'd she install her program, then?" he asked, curious, as he slipped through the gates, jogging towards his classroom. The sudden dead silence from Rockman took him aback, and he pulled his PET out of its holster, blinking anxiously at the screen to check that Rockman was still there.

Rockman stared back at him, face astonished and chagrined.

"Rock?" Netto frowned down at him, avoiding a collision with a younger student with the ease of long practice.

"I never even thought of that," Rockman admitted, sounding as shocked as he looked.

"Huh." Netto turned this over in his mind, halting momentarily outside the classroom. There were still five minutes before the bell for the start of lessons. "Maybe you should go check in with Papa and Meijin-san," he suggested – if they hadn't thought of it either, they wouldn't be looking for it, after all. Miyamoto-san had taken off so quickly that there _had_ to be traces left.

"Okay." Rockman nodded seriously, raising a hand to wave as he transferred out in a flash of pixels. _See you later, Netto-kun..._

Hooking the PET back onto his belt, Netto winced as Meiru-chan called his name from the end of the hallway. The look on her face said he was in for it – it was going to be a long afternoon.

* * *

"Look, this array is inverted..." Dr Hikari pointed something out to Meijin, who was balanced on the other side of the stepladder as they examined the digitising machinery. Blues, absorbed in paging through log files from the main console, paid them little heed, only looking up from his task when a familiar energy signature flared at the edge of his consciousness.

Rockman pixelated into the main screen, looking curiously around the firewalled system that the Net Police had set up to analyse Dr Miyamoto's lab. He spared a brief, bright smile for Blues before speaking up in the direction of the absorbed scientists.

"Um..."

"Hm?" Dr Hikari twisted on the ladder, craning his neck to look at the screen. Blues eyed him worriedly as the stepladder wobbled. "Oh, Rockman. What is it? Is Netto all right?"

"He's fine." Rockman nodded. "He went into school for the afternoon."

"Good." Dr Hikari nodded approvingly, climbing carefully down the ladder. "Do you want to help Blues go through the system logs?"

"Sure." Rockman nodded earnestly – Blues smiled despite himself – but hesitated a moment, frowning. "Um, Papa, did you find out where Miyamoto-san installed her Navi program?"

Blues stilled, mind suddenly whirling. He'd never even thought to enquire, accustomed as he was to Navis with PETs and Darkloids with none. Without a Dark Chip or its equivalent to break the bonds and rewrite her program, of course she would have needed an installation drive. Chastising himself for a fool, Blues abandoned the logs, moving to stand beside Rockman. It was small relief to see that Dr Hikari looked just as shocked and disgusted.

"I never even thought of that," he admitted wryly, running a hand through his hair. Still atop the ladder, Meijin cleared his throat, looking away as he adjusted his goggles.

Rockman laughed apologetically, rubbing the back of his head and shifting fractionally closer to Blues. "Me either," he admitted ruefully. "It was Netto-kun who asked."

"Hm." Dr Hikari shook his head, crossing to the main console that they'd discovered controlled the digitising machinery. For all that it was barely the size of a basic file server, it was one of the most powerful supercomputers that Blues had encountered outside of an IPC lab, its controlling programs dizzyingly intricate.

Rockman took the opportunity to shift closer to him, smiling luminously enough to put a hitch in Blues' core processes. "Where's Enzan-kun?" Rockman enquired innocently, as though he hadn't captured Blues' hand the moment it was within reach.

"He had to go into the office." Not even Net Saviours could cancel some meetings, and several new IPC products were due to hit the shelves next week. Blues smiled briefly, squeezing Rockman's hand, before turning his attention back to the lab. Meijin was looking at them thoughtfully, but after a moment he shrugged, turning away to return to his poking at the equipment.

"There." Dr Hikari straightened up as the console hummed into life, the connection to the network automatically re-establishing itself. "You two would probably be best for this – I'll back you up, in case you run into trouble."

"Okay." Rockman released Blues' hand, glancing at the transparent connection panel that had appeared in the blue-white firewall with determination on his face. "Ready, Blues?"

"When you are." Blues nodded, smirking fractionally, and they laid their left hands on the transfer panel, accessing the connection in easy unison.

Aware by now of what to expect, Blues headed straight for the main processor and the system cache, paying little heed to the deep humming that vibrated through the panels as the control programs cycled. Rockman, less used to this level of computer capacity – or complexity – stumbled, staring around at the stacked data tables and code pools with awe.

"Wow."

"Really something, huh?" A viewing window opened overhead, Dr Hikari smiling ruefully down at them. "Whatever else you can say about her, Kazue-san is good."

"Uh-huh." Still looking around curiously, Rockman hurried to catch up to Blues, peering down at the data stack he pointed out.

"The operating logs for the digitising systems are stored here." Accessing the data, Blues began to work his way back through the files. Much of it was all but incomprehensible, calls to programs and processes with impenetrable shorthand names, but the spike of activity that marked last night's events was easily identifiable.

"Right." Settling down beside him, Rockman laid a hand on the stack, eyes going blank as he accessed the data, sorting quickly through the cache in search of... the network logs, Blues realised with approval. Returning to his own work, he began sifting carefully through the processor logs, examining the concentrated spikes of activity. Although the processes themselves were densely coded and largely incomprehensible, the inter-relations between them allowed him to build up a gradual picture of their purpose and sequence. One thing quickly became clear, and Blues looked up, reporting tersely:

"The Navi shell was already created – she used the digitiser previously." That, he realised, was why Netto-san hadn't caught her – and why he was still human. All Dr Miyamoto had needed to do last night had been to complete the transfer, the system breaking down her physical body to provide the energy to transfer her fully into the cyber world. It must, Blues thought clinically, have been a very calculated risk; if her programming had been even slightly imperfect, she would have been destroyed.

"So she can come back?" Rockman blinked up at him, breaking off his search momentarily with hope and fear warring on his face.

"No." Blues shook his head, keeping his face blank and opting to omit the details of why. "The process is complete," he explained instead, settling back beside Rockman to re-examine the files. "The design seems to have been a standard Navi program, though."

"So it would definitely need an installation base," Dr Hikari concluded.

"Right." Rockman nodded, bending back to his own files as Blues began to pick apart the intricate processes that had completed the digitisation. There was a definite shift in the coding...

"Got it," he announced, blinking in amused startlement as Rockman's voice mingled with his, a simultaneous echo. They exchanged glances, and Blues couldn't help but smirk at the bright, triumphant smile on Rockman's face. He inclined his head fractionally, letting his lover speak first.

"I've got a destination IP," Rockman confirmed, looking up at Dr Hikari, who nodded approvingly.

"The transfer-out was designed as part of the process," Blues added as Rockman opened the relevant log file in a display window. The size of the file transfer, he saw, was definitely appropriate to a Navi program. Unbidden, memories arose, the bright warmth and pulsing glow of Rockman's program in his hands returning like a ghost of sensation. Carefully, Blues wrapped up the memory, setting it aside.

"Hm." Dr Hikari was examining the file thoughtfully. "That's a Sci-Labs address, if I'm not mistaken..."

Blues raised a silent eyebrow; it made sense, given her familiarity with the facilities. Turning to Rockman, he tilted his head in silent question. Dr Miyamoto's design specs had been barely enough for self-defence; the two of them together would have little trouble taking her down, if it came to it.

Rockman nodded firmly, shoulders set and a determined light in his eyes. "Let's go."


	18. Chapter 18

Title: Infinite Gravity  
Part: 18/18  
Rating: T  
Characters/Pairings: Rockman & Blues, Netto & Enzan  
Notes: Set a good five years after canon. This is slightly AU in that I've played fast and loose with canon versions and background details - it's mostly based on the anime timeline, but there are some significant game and manga details in here too, as well as some made up stuff like new viruses and attacks. Please be warned that this fic contains shameless fanon cliches, because they are relevant to the plot. This chapter probably owes a debt of inspiration to the ending of Kingdom Hearts 2, although it wasn't intentional at the time of writing. As always happens with long stories, the place I ended up is not at all where I envisioned when I began it. Epilogue to follow shortly.

**Infinite Gravity**

**18.**

The pristine white panels of the server were instantly familiar. Blinking against the momentary glare, Rockman looked around warily, frowning at the patchy grey stain of the destroyed partition in the distance. Something about this system still felt off, though it was less desolate than it had been last night, with blue flickers of activity in the distance and the occasional moving dot of a busy Navi. The back of his neck prickled, as though someone was watching, but when Rockman turned, glancing nervously over his shoulder, no one was visible apart from the silent, wary figure of Blues beside him.

"I wonder which port she used?" Rockman mused out loud, looking around thoughtfully. It was a very big server, and trying to find a single installation location without an admin key – well, needles and haystacks would have nothing on this job.

"Here." Tapping into the nearest CPU thread, Blues brought up a system log, scrolling lightning-quick through the reams of data. Within seconds he'd pinpointed a timestamp, then a disk sector. Rockman blinked, startled and not a little impressed.

"Thanks." He smiled at Blues, receiving a flicker of a smile in answer – all the more precious for being brief – before they took off across the grid, closing in slowly on the target location. The itchy, creepy, _watched_ feeling hadn't faded; Rockman shivered a little, looking about, and couldn't quite keep from asking, "Do you feel this?"

Blues tilted his head enquiringly at him, and Rockman was about to elaborate on the creepy feeling when he spoke up. "You're not imagining it. It's possible something's miscalibrated, or a watch program has been installed."

"Mm." Glancing nervously around, Rockman drew a little closer to him. "So long as it isn't haunted," he muttered – he'd never lost his instinctive fear of ghosts. Blues visibly smirked, and Rockman huffed at him, less irritated than indignant, though he had to acknowledge the humour that Blues clearly saw. "Just because you're not afraid of anything," he accused, half teasing and surprised when Blues stilled for a moment before resuming his steady, even pace.

"Don't count on it," he murmured, and Rockman blinked.

"Huh?" Blues was silent, though, looking away from him and changing direction slightly, veering towards a squat blue-white cluster of data stacks.

"Here."

"Really?" Rockman looked between him and the data for a moment, wondering whether to pursue that. Blues could be such a mystery sometimes, but now probably wasn't the time. With a sigh, he turned back to the files, gingerly reaching out a hand to touch the softly glowing surface. He recoiled almost instantly, shuddering – it was _definitely_ a Navi file archive, and she was active – that was closer contact than he ever wanted to have with anyone but his Operator or lover. But...

"Something's wrong with her energy signature." Screwing up his face in distaste, Rockman reached out again, managing another fraction of a second's contact before his stomach curdled and he jerked away, sickened and feeling a little violated. Blues caught him, holding him steady as he shuddered, and Rockman clung to him for a second, wishing for a malware scan.

"It's like she's corrupted or something – that's not like any Navi energy signature." It was too clouded, organic. Rockman bit his lip. "Do you suppose the process was incomplete?"

"We may never know that." Blues released him when he pulled away, indicating the data stack with a brief gesture. "Whatever she is now, it works along the same basic principles as a Navi."

"Mm." Rockman sighed, deliberately turning his back on the cluster. "What now?"

Blues looked around. "The obvious answer would be to wait – she'll have to return eventually to recharge."

"Yeah." Rockman frowned; that could be anything up to a week, and even in shifts they couldn't cover that much time. Tapping into the network port, he opened a communications window, routing a connection through to Dr Hikari's PET address. "Papa?"

There was a moment of static, and then his father appeared, the window resizing as the camera automatically adjusted its angle and focus.

"Rockman? What is it? Did you find anything?"

"Uh-huh." Carefully, Rockman sent through a databurst message containing their findings and exact location. "She's installed on the new Programming server. Can you set a trap in case she comes back here?"

"Good idea, Rock-kun." Dr Hikari nodded approval, already getting that gleam in his eye that meant he was having ideas. "I'll be right there."

"We'll check out the local access ports," Blues contributed quietly, visor stripping any expression from his face. Rockman's fingers itched to remove it; he pushed the impulse aside as he waved to his father and closed the connection, saving it for late. It was, however, something of a vindication – a small personal triumph that left a happy glow in his core – when Blues smiled briefly at his inquisitive look.

"I think this server has a direct link to Net City," he explained, low and dry. Rockman blinked, reaching out to the network almost automatically.

"It does?" It did. "It shouldn't..."

"Worth checking out," Blues concluded, and Rockman nodded, taking a second to steady himself before accessing the connection.

The first thing he saw when he stepped through into the city was the fragmenting, pixelating wall of an unkempt building – this was definitely the rough end of town, and Rockman swapped his buster in automatically. The second thing he saw, looking around warily, was a slender white-and-green Navi picking her way carefully toward the very link he'd just come through.

Their eyes met, and Rockman inhaled sharply. Even without the plans that Blues had shown him, he was sure he would have recognised her by the eyes alone, dark and too nuanced, too knowing. That she had recognised him was equally evident; she stood frozen, face contorted with shock, and it was only Blues' abrupt arrival in a rush of pixels that broke the stillness of the scene. Rockman started forward at a dash, lifting his buster, and the green-and-white Navi turned and bolted.

"Come on!" Rockman broke into a run of his own, giving chase even as he reached out through the link. _Netto-kun! Netto-kun! I need you!_

_Huh?_ Netto sounded startled and confused; Rockman deepened the link rather than explain, allowing his twin to see through his eyes for a fraction of a second. _Ah! That's – right. _Determination coloured his tone. _Sci-Labs, right? I'll be there soon, Rock-nii! Don't let her get away!_

To Rockman's consternation, that was proving to be a difficult feat. The one factor he hadn't taken into much account when he'd looked over the stats was speed, and she was _fast_. For that matter, Blues had a speed advantage too; he had pulled ahead, sword out and flashing as he ran, and Rockman set his jaw, putting on an extra burst of speed to catch up. They reached the edge of the city quickly, Miyamoto-san – the Navi who had _been_ Miyamoto-san – diving head-first into a link.

Hard on Blues' heels, Rockman followed, the energy of high-speed translation crackling around and between them, red and blue mingling as they sped in her wake. Fractions of seconds that stretched into forever, and they exited into a new system – somewhere in the power grid, their quarry a pale jade blur skimming across the panels ahead of them.

Gritting his teeth – he wouldn't let her get away! She'd done too much, gone too far – Rockman poured more energy into the pursuit, shutting out even the awareness of Blues speeding beside him as he narrowed his focus to the quarry. Nevertheless, it was starkly apparent that she was simply too fast; the gap was only increasing.

"This isn't working!" Blues shouted above the rush of the wind as, far ahead, Miyamoto-san dived into another link, easily identifiable by its glowing amber colour.

"She's heading for the public network!" Rockman shouted back – after all, what choice did they have but to follow? Without their Operators to upload battle chips, their options were drastically limited. Even had he been able to bring himself to fire on her, she was well out of buster range.

Another electric transfer, and she was nothing but a distant streak of movement heading into the outer reaches of the network. Dispirited, Rockman slowed, the drain of energy depletion catching up with him all at once as he drew to a halt. "That didn't work so well," he observed with a sigh, absently shaking the tingles out of his legs. Blues paced slowly up beside him, staring out into the distance. Rockman followed his gaze, frowning as something tickled at his memory. They really were at the edge of the inhabited network; the sky was a distant glitter of gold, a dark haze blurring the horizon.

Realisation hit like a Cannon to the core, and Rockman gasped. "Oh no..."

"The Undernet," Blues confirmed grimly, jaw set and shoulders tense. Rockman bit his lip, apprehension curling in his core.

"She'll be killed." Even with everything she'd done, he refused to believe she deserved that. And if she was deleted in the Undernet, he would never get an answer to the question of _why_. He glanced at Blues, seeing determination and resignation in the set of his mouth and shoulders. Rockman understood all too well; even now, the Undernet was decidedly not their territory. And with Miyamoto-san's tell-tale, _interesting_ energy signature... Rockman clenched his fists, dismally certain of what would happen.

_Netto-kun!_ If they were going into the Undernet, they needed every advantage they could get. _Hurry up!_

_All right, all right, we're here!_ After a moment, a viewing window opened, Netto peering down wide-eyed and panting; Rockman sighed in relief as the direct PET connection was re-established.

"You lost her?" Netto demanded indignantly as a second window opened, Blues turning calmly to face Enzan.

"She went into the Undernet," Rockman explained shortly, and Netto's eyes went wide.

"Aw, crap. She'll be deleted for sure – it's way too obvious she's human!"

Rockman nodded grimly. "Netto-kun..."

"Uh-huh." Netto grimaced, rubbing the back of his head, then sighed. "Full Synchro time then, huh?" He turned, clearly addressing Enzan. "You guys are coming too, right?"

"Who do you take me for?" Enzan smirked, hard and determined, and Netto grinned in reply; Rockman found himself echoing it as they fell into synchronisation, matching biorhythms as easily as breathing now.

"Let's go." Their voice echoed across a grid grown suddenly still and hushed. Enzan-and-Blues nodded firmly, keeping pace easily as they took off at top speed. Anything less was a weakness that would get you swarmed, and they had no time for small fry viruses now.

The fringes passed in an misty blur, darkness engulfing them as they plunged into the Undernet proper, lit only by the faint glow of floating data fragments, remnants of who knew what.

It seemed they were falling forever, arrowing through the dimness, but once sighted the surface came up incredibly fast. They hit the grid with enough force to warp panels, twin comets streaking to earth with weapons out and ready. Netto-Rockman breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the Miyamoto-Navi not far off, twisting from side to side as she stared up at the glittering black depths in apparent fascination.

"What, has she never seen the Undernet before?" they – well, mostly Netto – hissed under their breath; it felt wrong, somehow, to disturb the ageless silence of this place. Apart from anything, who knew what you might wake up?

"No, look –" Blues' and Enzan's voices mingled in alarm as they pointed skyward, toward what at first seemed to be merely another glittering speck. That impression was quickly dispelled as the dot arced across the sky in a streak of gold and black; there was barely time for Netto's stomach to sink before Forte dropped out of the sky, hitting the grid with all the force of a lightning bolt.

"Oh _shit_," Netto muttered through their shared voice, and for once Rockman didn't protest his language.

Miyamoto-san had staggered back at the abrupt entrance, and she seemed mesmerised, frozen in place as Forte stalked toward her.

"You." It was a hiss, venomous and clearly audible even at this distance. Netto-and-Rockman took off at a run as Forte struck, lifting the now weakly struggling white Navi easily by the throat. "You _dare_ to come here, reeking of human?"

"Forte!" Rockman all but shrieked, certain that he would never be able to forget the look of horror and panicked disbelief on Miyamoto-san's face as the black-and-gold Navi pulled a ball of seething, crackling energy from nowhere. He felt Netto fall even further into synchronisation with him as Forte dropped Miyamoto-san like a rag doll, whirling to face him with a mad light in his eyes.

"Rockman!" Forte grinned unpleasantly, sharp teeth flashing, and set one booted foot atop the crumpled form at his feet, pressing down forcefully. "Come to reclaim _this_?" Miyamoto-san cried out, a sharp animal sound, and Forte laughed wildly, kicking her harshly away from him. She skidded like a toy across the grid toward Rockman before logging out in a scatter of pixels.

"Pathetic weaklings!" Forte snarled, raising his energy ball in a clear preparation to attack. Rockman exchanged a frantic glance with Blues, and they logged out simultaneously, returning to their PETs in a breathless rush.

"Well, crap." Netto flopped onto his back, breathing hard as he stared at the ceiling of the server room. "Could that have gone any worse?"

"Don't just lie there," Enzan retorted, staggering slightly as he made for the server racks, aiming his PET's IR link at the nearest dataport. "Blues, plug in!"

"Boys –" Dr Hikari shook his head, backing away as Netto stumbled to his feet, following Enzan. "Remember that she isn't a fighting Navi. If you can keep her in once place for long enough, I can contain her program."

"Right, right." Netto nodded, lifting the PET and exchanging a long look with Rockman before flipping on the wireless link. "Plug in, Rockman: transmission!"

Uploading at a fraction of the speed he'd used in the Undernet, Rockman transferred easily into the server, pixelating onto the white-blue grid beside Blues. A single glance at his lover was enough to take in the grim set of mouth and shoulders, his sword out and held ready. Tensing, Rockman formed his buster, eyes sweeping the empty landscape. It seemed their father had cleared the system; all the earlier activity had ceased, and the grid lay silent and desolate, still heavy with that prickly feeling of wrongness.

"Where do we start?" Rockman asked in a low voice, buster held ready as he scanned the horizon.

"You guys found her program, right?" Netto spoke without opening a window.

"Uh-huh," Rockman confirmed, glancing at Blues, who nodded.

"We'll work out from there." He set off briskly, and Rockman paced him, looking warily around. He couldn't escape the feeling that something was watching him, though the only energy signatures he could detect were his own and Blues'.

_Did Papa find out anything about why?_ Rockman asked Netto silently. _Why Miyamoto-san would do this, I mean._ He liked being a Navi – he wouldn't trade his life now for anything, but then he'd never really known anything else. He couldn't imagine what could make someone want to leave their entire life behind.

_Not really._ Netto managed to give off the impression of a helpless shrug. _I don't get it either, Rock-nii._ Rockman frowned, walking a few more steps before the flutter of something tickling the edges of his senses really sank in. Thinking he was simply detecting the energy of the installed program, he stepped away from Blues – powerful enough that even controlled and shielded he filled Rockman's senses – and concentrated on the brief flicker. After a moment it came again, not the static cycling of the fixed program but a living energy trail, clouded and organic.

"This way!" Breaking into a jog, Rockman headed in the direction of the signal, Blues' footsteps echoing a fraction of a second behind his in an eerie counterpoint that chimed across the grid. It was close; rounding a tall stack of data, Rockman stumbled to a halt, bringing his buster to bear on the slight figure of Miyamoto-san, who was pacing agitatedly back and forth in shadow of the structure.

"Ah!" She whirled to face him, the whiplike appendages that curved back from her arms fanning out stiffly. Rockman felts Blues warp out from behind him, reappearing behind the Miyamoto-Navi with his sword held ready.

"Give yourself up," Rockman told her quietly, meeting her cloudy black gaze. "You can't escape."

"I don't need to." Her voice was musical, amused; Rockman narrowed his eyes as she gestured delicately, indicating the empty white world of the server. "Don't you love it, Saito? The freedom to go anywhere with a thought, to know anything that can be known?"

"My name is Rockman." Unwavering, Rockman stared down the barrel of his buster. "I'm not –" he began, but he never got to finish the sentence. Energy flared out of nowhere, painfully bright and unpleasantly familiar, and the fabric of the cyberworld itself twisted and lurched as a roiling hole rapidly appeared in the air, expanding until it was large enough for Forte to step through. Violet energy crackled around him as his intent gaze passed across Miyamoto-san and Blues, settling on Rockman with a predatory gleam.

"You think you can escape me?" It was almost a purr; in the back of his mind, Rockman felt Netto swear. This, he realised with the kind of preternatural calm that always descended in desperate situations, had the potential to go very badly.

Without any signal or warning, everything happened at once. Blues swapped out his sword for a Variable Sword, launching an attack at Forte. Miyamoto-san turned to run. And Netto broke into Rockman's astonishment.

"Sticky Chip, slot in!"

Accepting the data out of sheer force of habit, it took Rockman a second to puzzle out Netto's intention. Once he got it, though, it really did seem the most sensible course. A battle with Forte was no place for a brand-new Navi, criminal or no criminal. Turning smoothly, he aimed and fired in a single economical motion, watching with no small satisfaction as the Sticky Chip's field ensnared the white-and-green Navi, halting her flight and dragging her down to the surface of the panels where she lay fitfully struggling.

_Tell Papa to move her program to a secure unit!_ Rockman thought at Netto, dismissing the Sticky Chip as he turned back to the battle – Blues was fighting like a whirlwind, dodging attack after attack that Forte was aiming at him.

_Like we have time for that!_ Netto all but yelled as Rockman darted forward to intercept and parry a sphere of darkly crackling energy. Whatever else he might have said, though, was drowned in a long, shrill sound from where Miyamoto-san lay trapped behind Rockman. It was almost a whistle, rising and falling in a complex, jarring pattern. Rockman winced, bracing himself against the desire to cover his audio inputs.

A second later, he was bracing himself in earnest, as the entire grid – the entire _server_ – shuddered and heaved underfoot. Breaking off from the fight, Blues leapt back to stand beside Rockman; Forte staggered, growling and settling into a wary stance as the panels beneath them continued to shake and undulate.

"What's going on?" Netto demanded from outside the network; Rockman could only shrug helplessly, most of his concentration on staying on his feet without compromising his defence. In the background, he could hear Dr Hikari – and Meijin-san; when had he arrived? – exclaiming in disbelief.

"It has to be her doing," Enzan said flatly, with no doubt at all in his voice. Rockman saw Blues look upward, nodding, but at that moment the ground heaved upward violently, a rumbling roar splitting the air as all around them white spires heaved and twisted, thrusting skyward. Knocked off his feet, Rockman found himself first skidding and then falling, tumbling past panels that had become scales as the world reshaped itself in a maelstrom of white and glittering blue. He caught a glimpse of wings that would have covered city blocks before he was falling through space, nothing at all beneath him but the long drop to the Undernet.

Rockman had all but resigned himself to his fate when a red-and-silver streak arrowed out of nowhere, Blues catching him around the waist and linking them both in to the nearest network node. Pulled inelegantly into high-speed transfer, Rockman clung to Blues for a moment to steady himself, staring in disbelief at the vast white shape that sped ahead of them. The wings and spiked tail were unmistakeable, clusters of shed data tumbling off in the dragon's wake.

"Is that...?" Rockman couldn't help but ask in sheer disbelief, having to shout over the wind rushing in his ears. Not since Regal – not since _Wily_ – had they seen anything on this scale, and it was headed right for Net City.

"The whole server," Blues confirmed tersely, releasing his grip on Rockman once it was clear he'd regained his bearings. There was a flash of purple and gold, and Forte arced past them, turning to fix them with a manic grin, battle madness glowing in his eyes.

"Finally, a challenge!" he crowed with almost indecent glee, cape billowing about him as he sped up in the dragon's wake.

_Oh, hell_. Though he hated to admit it – Forte was a loose cannon, even as an ally – Rockman had to admit that they would likely need all the firepower they could get.

_You can say that again_, Netto sent grimly. _Are you ready, Nii-san? This could get rough._

"Exit coming up," Blues called warningly as the dragon arched through the air, diving sinuously through a connection portal. Rockman, riding the ripples of its wake, could feel the router starting to crash under the pressure of the massive load, chips frying and boards short-circuiting.

They came through to a scene of panic in the centre of Net City, with Navis fleeing in every direction as the white dragon roared, toppling skyscrapers and trampling parks and gardens. Rockman winced as a sweep of its tail brought the Silver Tower crashing down in a violent spray of pixel dust.

"How do we fight it?" he demanded, whether of Blues or Netto or even thin air he wasn't sure. It was Netto who answered, the video link snapping open.

"Wear it down, I guess?" He fanned out an array of battle chips, and Rockman nodded, squashing apprehension. An explosion in the distance caught his eye, Forte a black speck raining incandescent energy down on the massive beast.

"Are you ready?" he asked as Blues stepped up beside him, both of them watching the dragon crush another building beneath a clawed foot.

"When you are." Blues glanced sideways at him briefly, an unmistakeable smile flickering about his mouth. He was looking forward to this, Rockman realised, anticipation warring with apprehension in his own core. Forte had been right, in a way; it really had been a long time since they'd had a real challenge.

He would, Rockman thought to himself, have preferred a challenge that wasn't quite so large, or so intent on destroying the city. Kicking off the ground, he chose his attack vector carefully, arcing in over the enormous sweep of a wing to target the vulnerable joint. "Netto-kun, here goes!"

"Got it!" Netto's voice was gleeful as he responded. "Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword, slot in!"

"Dream Sword!" Taking careful aim, Rockman swept his arms down, releasing a vicious slash of energy toward the wing joint. It hit with a crackle and hiss, carving a metres-long slash in the glittering white scales that the dragon barely seemed to notice; it twitched as though to dislodge a fly, lumbering ponderously toward the northern sector of the city.

Landing briefly on the smooth scales of its back, Rockman paused to gather himself before leaping off again. Across the wide sweep of its back, he could see Blues slashing at the thinner membrane of the other wing – for all the good it was doing. Grimly, Rockman evaluated their options, which he concluded were severely limited.

"Netto-kun!" he called urgently, twisting mid-air to stare down at his quarry as he widened the link in silent demand. "It's our only chance!"

"What?!" Netto understood him, though, falling quickly into Full Synchro, and then pushing past it, further, toward the hidden light that flickered, deeply buried at the very heart of Rockman's core.

It exploded through them violently enough to distract even the dragon itself, newly-released energy swirling about him in a rapidly-narrowing vortex of power. Saito-style; in the distance Rockman heard Forte crow in triumph.

Gathering a palmful of concentrated energy, Rockman chose his spot carefully, slamming it down at the back of the dragon's neck where it joined the head. Panels cracked and warped with the force, and the dragon reared with a bellowing shriek, one house-sized claw trying to knock him out of the air. Dodging hastily, Rockman saw Forte dart in to slash viciously at its bared throat, though even his unrestrained power did little actual damage. Gathering another strike, Rockman clearly felt the distinctive flare of power as Blues followed his lead, shifting into Muramasa Style. Hanging there in the air, Rockman couldn't help but admire the dangerous grace of Blues' movements as he dashed across the dragon's back with his sword held two-handed, slashing at its neck. The dragon twisted its head, roaring, and Rockman dove, striking at its eyes – surely a weak point – with every ounce of force he could muster.

Energy exploded outward from the point of impact, blinding white and followed by a concussive aftershock that mingled with the dragon's shriek. It clawed heavily at its eyes – each the size of a truck, and pixelating slightly now with the damage Rockman had inflicted. He backed off, kicking off a slab of rubble and hovering mid-air as he watched Blues and Forte hack at the thing. Although they were at least doing damage, they had yet to actually seriously threaten the thing; it was simply too big.

"This isn't working!" Rockman shouted just as Forte hurled a vicious ball of pure black energy right _through_ one wing. The dragon reared up onto its back legs, towering titanic over the ruins of the city as its howl shook the very air. Rockman winced as Blues was caught with a foreleg and flung aside, but his attention was caught by a strange, irregular patch of dirty grey scales at the front of the dragon's chest, right between its forelegs. It took him a long moment to make the connection, but when he finally puzzled it out Rockman felt his eyes go wide with hope.

"Blues!" Twisting, he dropped out of the sky, intent on sharing this potential weakness with his partner. Instead, he found Forte – or, Rockman realised with a sinking feeling, Forte found him. Energy crackling around him, a mad light in his eyes, Forte advanced on him with one hand outstretched.

"Give me your power!"

Rockman backed away, mind spinning. Combining their power could work, but did he dare hand over control to Forte? Forte, whose eyes followed his movements so hungrily? Staggering as the ground shook beneath the now-angered white dragon, Rockman looked over Forte's shoulder at Blues, who stood there silently with his sword held loosely in one hand – waiting.

"It's the only way – give it to me!" Forte demanded manically, advancing on him with clear intent. Looking from him to Blues, Rockman held his ground, the seeds of an idea beginning to grow. They were, after all, compatible – it had to be worth a shot.

"Rockman!" Forte all but shrieked, lunging for him. Rockman ducked beneath his grasping hands, shaking his head.

"No. Blues!" Gathering and centring every scrap of power that he possessed, he reached out an imploring hand, and Blues met him halfway.

It was like falling headlong into the eye of the storm, a sudden calm silence in the midst of the tempest as their powers combined. With the hyper-real clarity of Perfect Synchro, Rockman caught a momentary glimpse of Blues, visorless and smiling, reaching out to catch him with both hands.

_Your potential is almost limitless_, someone whispered – was that real, or a memory? Rockman couldn't tell, but he could feel Blues' strength and conviction around and alongside him, the other side of this new link that also extended out to Netto and Enzan. Like planets circling twin stars, a profound gravity bringing all four of them into a single being of strength acknowledged and determination realised.

_There_, Rockman whispered, drawing their attention to the discoloured patch of scales – panels that had been weakened and warped by the self-destruction of Miyamoto-san's partition. Moving as one, four hands on the hilt of the Muramasa blade, they struck, channelling all the strength of their shared potential through the blade.

Power exploded from the point of impact as the blade pierced easily through the weakened scales, the concentrated beam of force lancing deep into the heart of the beast. The dragon arched back on its hind legs, screaming, as cracks began to ripple across its hide, spreading faster and faster as blue-white light lanced through from deep within. One last bellowing, echoing cry, and then with a soundless explosion of blinding light, the beast finally disintegrated and the world vanished.

* * *

Blinking aching, fuzzy eyes open, Rockman was vaguely surprised to see blue cyber-sky rather than the green of his PET systems, and Blues looking down at him, helmetless and smiling. It took Rockman a second to process the fact that he was lying with his head in Blues' lap, but once it had registered he smiled back, pushing himself up with a wince to stare around at the destruction.

"I guess we didn't get deleted after all," he commented, a little shocked. Blues' hair was tickling his face, and somewhere in the background Netto-kun was complaining about having hit his head again. There was no sign of the dragon, or of Forte, and after some consideration Rockman felt fully justified in settling back into Blues' lap amid the destruction, smiling up into his eyes. For the moment, at least, everything was over.


	19. Epilogue

Title: Infinite Gravity  
Part: Epilogue  
Rating: T  
Characters/Pairings: Rockman & Blues, Netto & Enzan  
Notes: Set a good five years after canon. This is slightly AU in that I've played fast and loose with canon versions and background details - it's mostly based on the anime timeline, but there are some significant game and manga details in here too, as well as some made up stuff like new viruses and attacks. Please be warned that this fic contains shameless fanon cliches, because they are relevant to the plot. As always happens with long stories, the place I ended up is not at all where I envisioned when I began it. Thanks to everyone who's been reading this, and especially to those who've been kind enough to leave reviews.

**Infinite Gravity**

**Epilogue**

It was raining. This was, Netto felt, massively unfair; he'd actually succeeded in dragging Enzan away from the office _and_ HQ, and now he couldn't even enjoy the sunshine. Swinging his legs moodily against the metal railings he was perched on – well under the overhang of the Game Soul's awning – he glared out at the weather.

"Stop pouting," Enzan said without even looking at him, leaning back with his elbows on the rail.

"Who's pouting?" Netto grumbled, nudging him with a knee, and Enzan flicked an amused glance up at him.

"I still don't get it," Netto admitted after a long, comfortable moment. "Why Miyamoto-san did all that, I mean." They'd watched the Net Police question her _and_ Umino-san, which had been a whole other kind of uncomfortable, but while they had enough evidence to prosecute, no one had yet pieced together a full motive. His father and Meijin-san were still working on her equipment, between other things. Somehow, it didn't feel at all satisfying in the way wrapping up a case should.

"Maybe... wanting something badly enough can warp you." Enzan's voice was quiet and sober; Netto blinked.

"Maybe she just wanted to because she could," Rockman volunteered from the PET. Netto frowned, thinking that over.

"Yeah, but we're the best, and we don't go around," he waved a hand vaguely, "hacking stuff and kidnapping people and making dragon monsters."

Enzan glanced up at him, one eyebrow raised wryly. "Who says you're the best?" Netto made a face at him, obscurely cheered, and after a moment Enzan continued, "It's the trying to kill you I object to."

"You just like me because I can beat you," Netto accused happily, kicking his feet out to catch raindrops on the toes of his sneakers.

"Say that when we flatten you later." Enzan was smiling, though, that odd fond one that made Netto itch to kiss him. Even on a rainy Sunday afternoon, however, there were people hurrying by under umbrellas, and kids dashing in and out of the game centre.

Stretching upright, Netto waved enthusiastically as Meiru-chan and the others ventured out of the subway station at the other end of the block. Meiru waved back, picking her way around puddles as she headed over. After a moment, Netto nudged Enzan again, grinning down at him.

"Whatcha doing tonight?"

Enzan slanted a thoughtful look up at him, blue eyes bright with amusement. "Depends."

"Heh." Jumping down from the rail, Netto exchanged high-fives with Dekao and suffered himself to be hugged by Meiru-chan. "Hi guys!"

"You finally get your birthday celebration." Meiru-chan beamed, and Netto blinked; he'd actually forgotten that was what this was about.

"I guess so," he admitted, shaking his head as Yaito-chan accosted Enzan about some work-related thing. "Hey, hey, no business talk allowed!" he scolded, gamely suppressing the almost overwhelming urge to kick Enzan in the ankle when he smirked.

"Hey, hey, Netto, I call first battle!" Dekao demanded, eyes gleaming behind his shades. Netto laughed uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his head as they headed in toward the match tables.

"Actually, first slot's taken." He glanced over at Enzan, taking up position at the table and pulling out his PET. Rockman beamed up at him, visibly eager to finally finish this. "Unfinished business. Plug in, Rockman!"

"Plug in, Blues!" Enzan grinned at him over the top of the stage as the Navis transferred in, already in battle positions. To Netto's surprise, though, it was Blues who spoke up, sighting along the blade of his sword at Rockman.

"Don't think I'm going to go easy on you," he warned. Netto glanced around the goggling circle of his friends before locking eyes with Enzan as Rockman answered the implicit challenge.

"I wouldn't let you."

This was, Netto concluded with an anticipatory thrill, going to be awesome.

* * *

Leaning back against the familiar wall of his private homepage, Blues smiled to himself as Rockman shifted comfortably against his side, head a warm weight on his shoulder. There were any number of things that they could be doing, but somehow none of them seemed particularly urgent when Rockman was playing with his hair. Still, he couldn't help but ask, knowing what the answer would be.

"Want to go clean viruses out of Net City?" The damage had extended to the security systems, and the subsequent invasions, mostly low-level, were hampering repair work.

Rockman yawned, a fascinatingly human gesture, and snuggled closer against Blues' side, abandoning his hair to wrap a possessive arm around him.

"Mm. Maybe tomorrow."


End file.
